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. 2025 Jul 1;15(1):20382.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-08546-6.

Characterizing full-shift worker exposures to VOCs in small-sized auto repair shops in the Tucson, Arizona, USA metropolitan area

Nathan Lothrop  1 , Shannon Gutenkunst  2 , Jocelyn Fimbres  3 , Carolina Quijada  3 , Marvin Chaires  3 , Imelda Cortez  4 , Flor Sandoval  4 , Fernanda J Camargo  3 , Denise Moreno Ramírez  3 , Emma V Gallardo  3 , Elmira Torabzadeh  2 , Rietta Wagoner  3 , Nicolas Lopez-Galvez  5 , Maia Ingram  3 , Scott Carvajal  3 , Dean Billheimer  3   2 , Ann Marie Wolf  4 , Paloma I Beamer  3   2
Affiliations

Characterizing full-shift worker exposures to VOCs in small-sized auto repair shops in the Tucson, Arizona, USA metropolitan area

Nathan Lothrop et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Auto repair shops employ 1% of the US labor force. These workers are constantly exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have known and often irreversible health effects, yet exposure studies are sparse. Our goal was to assess what exposure factors were related to total personal and shop-level specific VOC exposures for entire shifts in marginalized, predominantly Spanish-speaking workers in auto repair shops. Full-shift, real-time worker exposure factors like activities and ventilation conditions were recorded, along with personal total VOCs and shop-level specific VOC samples. The relationship of total VOCs with activity and ventilation, along with shift and shop, was analyzed using linear mixed effects modeling. Specific VOC concentrations were combined into hazard scores for potential health risks based on EPA inhalation reference or reference dose. Personal exposures were characterized by episodic peaks, with the highest peaks during spraying brake cleaner and painting activities in 22/35 shifts. Shift within shop and shop accounted for about half the variation in total VOC exposures to workers (35% and 15%, respectively), while activity and ventilation explained almost none. Acetone and toluene were detected in all samples. While worker exposure patterns were characterized by infrequent but very high peak exposures to total VOCs related to aerosolization activities, activities were only slightly predictive of VOC exposure overall. Instead, shift within shop and shop explained just half the variability. While additional study on exposure factors is needed, this should be done with a focus on interventions tailored to worker and shop.

Keywords: Air pollution; Auto repair; Exposure assessment; Occupational health; VOCs.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval: The studies involving humans were approved by University of Arizona Human Subjects Protection Program. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. Written consent was obtained in the participant’s language of choice (English or Spanish). Consent for publication: Consent for data to be used in research was obtained.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Total VOC concentrations stratified by activity and colored by shop. The first quartile (Q1), median, and third quartile (Q3) are shown by black horizontal lines; a black diamond shows the geometric mean. Each data point represents the arithmetic mean for an activity-ventilation span, resulting from aggregating over each broad activity-broad ventilation span in sequence.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Real-time total VOC concentration colored by activity with peaks labeled with specific activities for one shift.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Total VOC concentrations stratified by ventilation and colored by shop. The first quartile (Q1), median, and third quartile (Q3) are shown by black horizontal lines; a black diamond shows the geometric mean. Each data point represents the arithmetic mean for an activity-ventilation span, resulting from aggregating over each broad activity-broad ventilation span in sequence.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Ambient concentrations of specific VOCs measured in at least one shop and calculated hazard score (last row) for each Summa canister by shop, date, placement location, and duplicate status (dup).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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MeSH terms

Substances