8261173 Exposure to chemical agents among workers in the death care sector in France

<h3>Objective</h3> The death care sector encompasses many activities such as embalming, maintenance of cemeteries, cremation, and the manufacturing of caskets and tombstones. Several studies have assessed formaldehyde exposure among embalmers, but workers in other occupations can be exposed to a variety of chemical hazards. We aimed to describe exposure levels across jobs in the death care sector in France using existing measurement data. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> We used personal and area measurements collected between 2002 and 2023 and stored in the Colchic database, which contains exposure data from research and prevention activities in France. We selected measurements associated with death care activities based on the reported industry and job titles, tasks, and establishment names. <h3>Results</h3> We identified 491 relevant exposure results to 31 chemical agents. Among personal samples, we found the highest prevalence of overexposure for wood dust in the manufacturing of caskets (9 out of 15 samples, 60%) relative to the French 8-hour occupational exposure limit (OEL8h) of 1 mg/m3. 30% of formaldehyde concentrations measured on workers handling or transporting the diseased, primarily embalmers, exceeded the OEL8h (0.37 mg/m3). Use of local exhaust ventilation was associated with a 64% reduction in geometric mean formaldehyde concentrations for this group. Lastly, 32% of quartz concentrations from the manufacturing of funeral monuments exceeded the OEL8h. <h3>Conclusion</h3> We found frequent overexposure in several activities in the death care industry in France. Additional exposure data is needed to assess risks in data-poor activities such as crematories. <h3>Funding</h3> Internal funding from the INRS.