Occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke: Results of two personal exposure studies

Personal monitoring is a more accurate measure of individual exposure to ai rborne constituents because it incorporates human activity patterns and col lects actual breathing zone samples to which subjects are exposed. Two rece nt studies conducted by our laboratory offer perspective on occupational ex posure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) from a personal exposure standp oint. In a study of nearly 1600 workers, levels of ETS were lower than or c omparable to those in earlier studies. Limits on smoking in designated area s also acted to reduce overall exposure of workers. In facilities where smo king is permitted, ETS exposures are 10 to 20 times greater than in facilit ies in which smoking is banned. Service workers were exposed to higher leve ls of ETS than workers in white-collar occupations. For the narrower occupa tional category of waiters, waitresses, and bartenders, a second study in o ne urban location indicated that ETS levels to which wait staff are exposed are not considerably different from those exposure levels of subjects in t he larger study who work in environments in which smoking is unrestricted. Bartenders were exposed to higher ETS levels, but there is a distinction be tween bartenders working in smaller facilities and those working in multiro om restaurant bars, with the former exposed to higher levels of ETS than th e latter. in addition, ETS levels encountered by these more highly exposed workers are lower that those estimated by the Occupational Safety and Healt h Administration. Concomitant area monitoring in the smaller study suggests that area samples can only be used to estimate individual personal exposur e to within an order of magnitude or greater.