Validation of an analytical method for determination of 13 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mineral water using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and GC-MS

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction [DLLME] combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry [GC-MS] was used for the extraction and determination of 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs] in mineral water samples. In this procedure, the suitable combination of extraction solvent [500 microL chloroform] and disperser solvent [1000 microL acetone] were quickly injected into the water sample [10.00 mL] by Hamilton syringe. After centrifugation, 500 microL of the lower organic phase was dried under a gentle stream of nitrogen, re-dissolved in chloroform and injected into GC-MS. Chloroform and acetone were found to be the best extraction and disperser solvent, respectively. Validation of the method was performed using spiked calibration curves. The enrichment factor ranged from 93 to 129 and the recovery ranged from 71 to 90%. The linear ranges for all the PAHs were 0.10-2.80 ngmL-1. The relative standard deviations [RSDs] of PAHs in water by using anthracene-d[10] as internal standard, were in the range of 4-11% for most of the analytes [n=3]. Limit of detection [LOD] for different PAHs were between 0.03 and 0.1 ngmL-1. The method was successfully applied to the analyze of PAHs in mineral water samples collected from Tehran

Restrictive pattern of pulmonary symptoms among photocopy and printing workers: a retrospective cohort study

Background: According to the growth of photocopier usage in workplaces, the potential risk of occupational exposure to the airborne chemicals has been raised up. Hence, monitoring the photocopy worker's respiratory functions seems to be necessary. We aimed to evaluate the respiratory health on photocopy and printing workers so that a reliable description can be made about their occupational hygiene

Methods: This study was performed in Shiraz, southwest Iran in 2014 and a group of 150 photocopy and printing workers were surveyed as exposed group in addition to a group of 114 office staff as unexposed group. The respiratory standard questionnaire was used to evaluate the prevalence of respiratory symptoms among the selected staff. Pulmonary function indexes including VC, FVC, FEV1 and the FEV1/FVC ratio were calculated. Finally, Mest, Chi Square and multiple logistic regressions were conducted

Results: VC, FVC and FEV1 in photocopy and printing workers were lower than the unexposed group of which these differences for FVC and FEV1 were statistically significant [P<0.05]. Moreover, the prevalence of all respiratory symptoms, except the shortness of breath, in exposed group was more than the unexposed group and the prevalence of coughing and wheezing was statistically significant [P<0.05]

There was a significant difference in respiratory symptoms [cough and wheezing] between two groups after controlling for confounding variables, OR: 2.61 [95% Cl: 1.21, 5.62] and 2.92 [95% Cl: 1.25, 6.84], respectively

Conclusions: The prevalence of excess respiratory symptoms along with pattern of pulmonary restrictive sings in photocopy and printing workers revealed that the workplace conditions can result in occupational respiratory diseases