Personal Carbon Monoxide Exposures and Carboxyhemoglobin Levels of the Traffic Policemen

The number of motor vehicles in Korea has increased to about 4 million, and the exhaust gases of these vehicles have become a more threatening factor to public health. Traffic policemen are one of the highest health risk groups since they work on roadsides where they are exposed to high levels of air pollutants. The health effects on them due to air pollution were determined by measuring personal carbon monoxide(CO) exposure and carboxyhemoglobin(COHb) level in blood. Thirty-one traffic policemen in Seoul volunteered to be subjects of the study. In October 1992, personal CO exposure was measured by a CO passive sampler. The subjects wore the CO passive sampler for 8 hours while on duty. The exposed samples were analyzed by gas chromatography. Blood samples from each subject were collected just after the exposure sampling, and were analyzed within 3 hours of blood collection by a CO-oximeter. The activities of the subjects were recorded by the subject in 30 minute intervals using an activity log sheet containing location and time spent. Personal CO exposure were ranged between 0.1 and 14.5ppm, eith an average of 5.9ppm. Carboxyhemoglobin levels ranged from 1.1% to 6.9%, with an average of 3.6%. policemen on duty outdoors had significantly higher CO exposures and COHb levels than policemen on duty indoors(p