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. 2024 Oct;15(10):10.3390/atmos15101175.
doi: 10.3390/atmos15101175. Epub 2024 Sep 30.

Concurrent Particulate Matter and Heat Exposure in Working and Non-working Women in Rural Guatemala

Jaime Butler-Dawson  1   2 , Grant Erlandson  3 , Diana Jaramillo  1   2 , Laura Calvimontes  3 , Daniel Pilloni  4 , James Seidel  3 , Colton Castro  3 , Karely Villarreal Hernandez  1 , Lyndsay Krisher  1   2 , Stephen Brindley  1   2 , Miranda Dally  1   2 , Alex Cruz  4 , Katherine A James  1   2 , Lee S Newman  1   2   5   6 , Joshua Schaeffer  3 , John L Adgate  1   2
Affiliations

Concurrent Particulate Matter and Heat Exposure in Working and Non-working Women in Rural Guatemala

Jaime Butler-Dawson et al. Atmosphere (Basel). 2024 Oct.

Abstract

High temperatures and air pollution exposure are individually known risks to human health, with amplifying adverse health effects during periods of co-exposure. This study compared co-occurring individual-level exposures to particulate matter (PM5, aerodynamic diameter of ≤ 5 micrometers) and heat among women in residential and agricultural settings in Guatemala. We measured personal and ambient exposure to PM5, temperature, and humidity among 21 female sugarcane workers in the fields and on their off days. We measured similar exposures among a group of 30 community members not involved in sugarcane work. We collected 171 personal PM5 measurements across 18 sampling days. The median workday personal PM5 concentration was 271 μg/m3, which was 3.6-fold higher than ambient area levels in the fields. The median personal PM5 concentration was 95.8 ug/m3 for off-work days and 83.5 ug/m3 for community days. The average workday individual-level temperature and humidity were 39.4°C and 82.4%, respectively, with significantly lower temperatures on off-work and community days. The women workers and community members were exposed to high levels of PM5 and heat in both occupational and residential settings. Research needs to consider individual-level exposures at both work and home to help tailor more effective comprehensive prevention efforts to reduce risks.

Keywords: Agricultural Workers; Environmental Exposures; Heat; Particulate Matter; Women.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors declare they have no actual or potential competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Study design and data collection details for 18 sampling days during the two harvest seasons. Workers were monitored one workday and one off-work day per month. Community members were each monitored one day per month in two different groups.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Left top picture shows the sampler set-up and vest from the front of a worker with tubing, cassette, and cyclone inlet. The right top picture shows the pump location in a pocket on the back of the vest. The left bottom picture shows the sampler set-up and vest on a community member. The right bottom is the iButton logger zip-tied to the front of the vest.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Box plots of log-transformed personal particulate matter (PM5) measurements by sampling month and day type (community, off-work, and work) across two study harvest seasons. Workday samples were not valid in Dec 2021. Community days were only conducted during the second harvest.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Box plots of average heat index levels by sampling month and day type (community, off-work, work) across two study harvest seasons. Community days were only conducted during the second harvest.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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