Air pollution in the workplace: making shish kebab is an overlooked occupational hazard

BACKGROUND Meat grilled with wood charcoal is the most popular meal in Central Asia, but little is known about the grillers' occupational exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) in fumes. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to provide a quantitative analysis of occupational exposure to fine PM in grillers in the workplace. METHODS We assessed exposure to PM2.5 from barbecue fumes using SidePak AM520 in six popular cafes in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Grillers wore devices for 8 h of work shift for 7 days in each place. Within- and between-place variances of PM2.5 mass concentrations were calculated using analysis of variance, and we also calculated the fold range of the 95% variance within (wR0.95) and between places (bR0.95), as well as exceedance (γ) and the probability of overexposure (θ). RESULTS Two modes of exposure were identified, including intermittent and continuous. The median of daily geometric mean PM2.5 concentrations was 0.143 (interquartile range (IQR): 0.213) and 0.404 (IQR: 0.243) mg/m3, accordingly. bR0.95 was very large (20.2), but wR0.95 was even greater (47.8), illustrating extremely high fluctuations in PM2.5 concentrations; γ was 0.116, and θ was 0.095. SIGNIFICANCE Very high occupational exposure to barbecue fumes in grillers is overlooked and likely causes elevated health risks.