Air Quality in the Working Environment and Respiratory Health of Female Congolese Stone Quarry Workers

Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
Ngombe Leon-KabambaTomohiro Hirao

Abstract

Environmental and occupational exposure to high dust levels are known to be associated with lung function impairment. We assessed the ambient air quality in the working environment and the respiratory health of female stone quarry workers in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a context of severe economic, security, and health crises. This was a case-control study conducted in three stone quarry sites. Participants were 256 dust-exposed female stone quarry workers matched to 256 unexposed female office workers and market tax collectors (N = 512). They each answered a structured respiratory health questionnaire and underwent physical examination and a lung function test with the use of a spirometer and peak flow meter. Quality of ambient air in the working environment was assessed by means of a BRAMC air quality monitor (BR-AIR-329). Results showed that exposed women did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE); in quarry sites, abnormally high levels of PM2.5 (205 ± 13.2 μg/m3 vs. 31.3 ± 10.3 μg/m3 in control sites; p < 0.001) and volatile organic compounds (VOC, 2.2 ± 0.2 μg/m3 vs. 0.5 ± 0.3 μg/m3, respectively; p < 0.01) were found. Furthermore, respiratory complaints were more common among exposed women ...Continue Reading

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