Chemical contaminant exposures assessed using silicone wristbands among fuel station attendants, taxi drivers and commercial motorcycle riders in Kampala, Uganda

There are concerns over traffic-related air pollution in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Individuals in the transportation sector are hypothesized to be at greater risk for exposure to volatile organic compounds, given their proximity to vehicle exhaust. Silicone wristbands are a wearable technology that passively sample individuals’ chemical exposures. We conducted a pilot cross sectional study to measure personal exposures to volatile organic compounds among 14 transportation workers who wore a wristband for five days. We analyzed for 75 volatile organic compounds; 33 chemicals (35%) were detected and quantified in at least 50% of the samples and 15 (16%) chemicals were detected and quantified across all the samples. Specific chemicals were associated with participants’ occupation. The findings can guide future large studies to inform policy and practice to reduce exposure to chemicals in the environment in Kampala.

乌干达首都坎帕拉的交通相关空气污染问题引发了广泛担忧。有假说指出，交通行业从业人员因近距离接触机动车尾气，其暴露于挥发性有机化合物（Volatile Organic Compounds）的风险更高。硅胶腕带是一种可穿戴技术设备，可被动采集个体的化学暴露样本。本研究开展了一项横断面预试验，对14名佩戴腕带达5天的交通行业从业人员的个人挥发性有机化合物暴露情况进行了检测。本次分析共涵盖75种挥发性有机化合物，其中33种（占比35%）在至少50%的样本中被检出并定量，另有15种（占比16%）在全部样本中均被检出并定量。部分特定化学物质与受试者的职业类型存在关联。本研究结果可为未来开展大规模研究提供参考，助力制定相关政策与实践方案，以降低坎帕拉市居民的环境化学物质暴露水平。