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OCR Page 1 of 2097704885767 TO 912022058313
P.02/08
MAY-04-98 10:10 From:CHAMBLEE IC
7704887422
T-704 P.02
Job-200
270
Exposure of Casino Employees to ETS Trout et al
Exposure of Casino Employees to
Tobacco-
Environmental Tobacco Smoke
ETS
Douglas Trout, MD, MHS
n 1995 the National Institute for
John Decker, MS
I
Occupational Safety and Health
Charles Mueller, MS
(NIOSH) received an employee re-
John T. Bernert, PhD
quest for a health hazard evaluation
(HHE) concerning exposure to sec-
James Pirkle, MD, PhD
ond-hand (environmental) tobacco
smoke (ETS) among employees at a
Environmental and medical evaluations were performed to evaluate
casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoks (ETS) among
In response to this request, NIOSH
casino employees. Air concentrations of both nicoline and respirable dust
performed a field study to evaluate
were similar to those published in the literature for other non-industrial
the exposure of gaming floor em-
indoor environments. The geometric mean serum catinine level of the 27
ployees to ETS using both environ-
participants who provided serum samples was 1.34 nanograms per
mental and biologic measures of ex-
milliliter (ng/mL) (pre-shift) and 1.85 ng/mL (post-shift). Both mea
posure.¹
surements greatly exceeded the geometric mean value of 0.65 ng/mL for
participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination
Environmental Tobacco Smoke
Survey (NHANES III) who reported exposure to ETS at work. This
Occupational exposure to ETS is
evaluation demonstrates that a sample of employees working in a casino
recognized as an important public
gaming area were exposed to ETS at levels greater than those observed in
health issue.2.³ NIOSH has deter-
a representative sample of the US population, and that the serum and
mined that ETS poses an increased
urine cotinine of these employees increased during the workshift.
risk of lung cancer, other lung dis-
ease. and possibly heart disease to
occupationally exposed workers and
recommends eliminating or restrict-
ing tobacco use in the workplace.⁴
Although many workplaces are
adopting policies that restrict smok-
ing. occupational exposure to ETS
remains a concern among some of
the 110 million Americans who work
outside the home.⁵.⁶ Occupational
ETS exposures have not been evalu-
aled to the extent that home expo-
sures have. In particular, there is
very little information available con-
ceming the exposure of casino cm-
ployees in the United States to ETS.
From the Division of Surveillance. Hazard Evaluation and Field Studies, National Institute for
In this survey. vapor-phase nico-
Occupational Safery and Health, Auanta. Ga, and Cincinnati. Ohio (Dr. Trout Mr Docker. Mr Mucller)
and the Division of Environmental Health Laboratory Sciences. National Center for Environmental
tine and respirable particulate were
Health, Atlanta. Ga (Dr Bemen Dr Pirkle). Centers for Disease Convol and Prevention.
monitored as marker substances for
Address correspondence to: Douglas Trous, MD. MHS. MOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway. R-10.
exposure to ETS. Vapor-phase nico-
Cincinnati, OH 45226.
line, which accounts for approxi-
1076-2752/98/4003-027033.00/0
mately 95% of nicotine in ETS, is
Copyright 0 by American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
currently a widely accepted marker
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