Occupational exposure of non-smoking restaurant personnel to environmental XXXX smoke in Finland.

@entity286 @entity1239 @entity4874 @entity5943 @entity1011
BACKGROUND: Environmental @entity286 smoke (ETS) exposure levels in different restaurant types in Finland were assessed before the National @entity286 Act restricting smoking in restaurants was activated. METHODS: Exposure to ETS was determined by measuring @entity1239 in the breathing zone of non-smoking restaurant workers and by quantification of the @entity1239 metabolites @entity4874 and @entity5943 in the urine of these workers during one whole work week. Altogether 23 workers from 15 restaurants were included in the study. RESULTS: The geometric mean (GM) breathing-zone @entity1239 level was 3.9 microg/m(3) (3.7 microg/m(3) in pubs, 1.4 microg/m(3) in dining restaurants, and 10.2 microg/m(3) in nightclubs). The GM @entity4874 and @entity5943 level in urine were 3.3 ng/mg(( @entity1011 )) and 15.3 ng/mg(( @entity1011 )), respectively. The exposure to ETS of restaurant workers in dining restaurants was clearly lower than that of workers in pubs and nightclubs as indicated by all ETS-markers used in the present study. During the work week, the @entity4874 and @entity5943 levels in urine of the study subjects increased. The correlation between breathing zone @entity1239 and urine @entity4874 and @entity5943 was 0.66 for both compounds. Post-shift @entity4874 and @entity5943 levels were not significantly higher than the pre-shift levels. CONCLUSIONS: If 9 ng @entity4874 /mg(( @entity1011 )) is considered as the level above which heavy exposure has occurred, then this level was exceeded by 14 (approximately 60%) subjects at least once during the work week. @entity1239 metabolite concentrations in the urine increased during the work week in 80% of the subjects, and the increase was especially noticeable for subjects working in both pubs and nightclubs. The study indicates that measures to restrict ETS exposure in restaurants are needed.
