Occupational exposure to carcinogens in Australian road transport workers

Our plain-English summary of Occupational exposure to carcinogens in Australian road transport workers, by S. Si, R. Carey, A. Reid, et al (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2016).

The study

• Authors: S. Si, R. Carey, A. Reid, S. Peters, D.D. Glass, T. Driscoll, E. Darcey, L. Fritschi
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 2016;59(1):31-41
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background: Road transport workers (RTWs) are at high risk of exposure to several occupational carcinogens. However, there are gaps in knowledge regarding the extent and the circumstances of exposure. As a sub-study of the Australian Work Exposures Study, this study investigated the prevalence of occupational exposure in Australian RTWs.

Methods: A random sample of Australian working population was invited to a telephone interview regarding their current jobs. An automated expert-assessment procedure was applied to self-reported job-related tasks using a web-based application. 162 RTWs were included in this study.

Results: RTWs were exposed to diesel exhaust (97%), solar ultraviolet radiation (78%), environmental tobacco smoke (55%), benzene (29%), silica (15%), and asbestos (10%) at work. Besides driving on roads, vehicle maintenance-related tasks were the major source of carcinogen exposures among RTWs.

Discussion: Most RTWs are exposed to at least one carcinogen at work. We have identified tasks where the use of control measures could potentially reduce exposures.

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In plain English

This study, part of the Australian Work Exposures Study (a 2012 cross-sectional telephone survey), included 162 road transport workers such as truck drivers, rubbish collectors, couriers and bus drivers; 88% were male. Workers described tasks in their current job, and a web-based tool applied expert-set rules to judge likely carcinogen exposure. Results were weighted to national census figures. The estimated shares probably exposed were 96.7% (95% CI 92.2 to 98.7) for diesel exhaust, 77.9% (70.5 to 83.9) for solar ultraviolet radiation, 54.8% (46.7 to 62.6) for environmental tobacco smoke, 28.5% (22.6 to 35.2) for benzene, 14.9% (10.9 to 20.0) for silica and 10.4% (6.6 to 15.9) for asbestos. All asbestos exposure was judged low level; the article named no fiber type. Brake or clutch maintenance was the main circumstance of asbestos exposure (16 of 21 exposed workers). More than 60% were exposed to more than one lung carcinogen. The authors concluded that most road transport workers were exposed to at least one carcinogen. They noted the sample was not representative and the survey covered current jobs only.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Cross-sectional telephone survey (sub-study of the Australian Work Exposures Study), with exposure assigned by an automated expert-assessment tool (OccIDEAS) from self-reported job tasks
• Who was studied: 162 road transport workers (truck drivers, recycling and rubbish collectors, automobile drivers, couriers and postal deliverers, driving instructors, delivery drivers, bus and coach drivers), identified among 5,528 completed interviews of a random sample of the Australian working population aged 18 to 65, surveyed in 2012; 88% (143/162) male
• Exposure: Probable occupational exposure in the current job to diesel exhaust, solar ultraviolet radiation, environmental tobacco smoke, benzene, shift work, silica and asbestos (fiber type not specified), judged from tasks such as driving conditions, vehicle maintenance and material handling
• Main results:
  • Weighted estimate: 96.7% (95% CI 92.2 to 98.7) of Australian road transport workers were probably exposed to diesel exhaust (about 270,000 workers); 65.4% at medium and 3.9% at high level
  • 77.9% (95% CI 70.5 to 83.9) were probably exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation (24.2% medium, 50.3% high)
  • 54.8% (95% CI 46.7 to 62.6) were probably exposed to environmental tobacco smoke
  • 28.5% (95% CI 22.6 to 35.2) were probably exposed to benzene (extrapolated to 79,600 workers); 24.6% at medium and 0.7% at high level
  • 14.9% (95% CI 10.9 to 20.0) were potentially exposed to silica at a low level
  • 10.4% (95% CI 6.6 to 15.9) were probably exposed to asbestos at a low level (21 of 162 in the sample; projected 29,057 workers); workers from lower socio-economic groups were significantly more likely to be exposed
  • Vehicle maintenance (brakes or clutches) was the main circumstance of asbestos exposure: 16 of the 21 asbestos-exposed workers, weighted 74.7% (95% CI 50.1 to 89.6)
  • More than 60% of road transport workers were exposed to more than one lung carcinogen (diesel exhaust, environmental tobacco smoke, silica, asbestos)
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that most road transport workers in Australia were exposed to at least one of the carcinogens studied, and that interventions should target high-prevalence, high-risk tasks.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The survey could not include every task in every occupation, so it may have underestimated exposure by missing uncommon tasks
  • The survey gave a snapshot of current jobs in 2012 and did not measure cumulative exposure or the duration of the current job
  • The sample of road transport workers was not representative of Australian road transport workers, so the results were weighted after sampling
  • Reporting of environmental tobacco smoke exposure may have been affected by reporting bias

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Occupational Exposure.

Related studies

• Variations in exposure to carcinogens among shift workers and non-shift workers — S. El-Zaemey, R.N. Carey (2019)
• The future excess fraction of occupational cancer among those exposed to carcinogens at work in Australia in 2012 — R.N. Carey, S.J. Hutchings, et al. (2017)
• Epidemiological Research on Occupational and Environmental Carcinogens — C. Ledda (2021)
• Comparison of expert and job-exposure matrix-based retrospective exposure assessment of occupational carcinogens in The Netherlands Cohort Study — N.S. Offermans, R. Vermeulen, et al. (2012)
• Determining the frequency of asbestos use in automotive brakes from a fleet of on-road California vehicles — J. De Vita, S. Wall, et al. (2012)
• Assessing truck driver exposure at the World Trade Center disaster site: personal and area monitoring for particulate matter and volatile organic compounds during October 2001 and April 2002 — A.S. Geyh, S. Chillrud, et al. (2005)

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