Workers bring toxic metals home
Construction workers may bring home more than the bacon — they may also be exposing their families to toxic metals, a new study reveals.
Toxic contaminants unintentionally brought from the workplace into the home are a public health hazard, but the majority of research to date has focused on problems related to lead. Much less is known about take-home exposures to other harmful metals.
To learn more, researchers collected and analyzed dust samples from the homes of construction, janitorial and auto repair workers. Construction workers had higher levels of lead, arsenic, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel and tin dust in their homes than janitorial and auto repair workers.
“Many professions are exposed to toxic metals at work, but construction workers have a more difficult job implementing safe practices when leaving the worksite because of the type of transient outdoor environments where they work, and the lack of training on these topics," the researchers said.
They also found that higher concentrations of toxic metals in the home were associated with lower education; not having a work locker to store clothes; mixing work and personal items, and not having a place to launder clothes. Not washing hands and not changing clothes after work were also tied to higher metal concentrations.
Source: HealthDay News
