Hazardous substances on the airport apron - Part 2: hazardous substance exposure levels

Airports are highly complex working areas associated with a wide range of tasks and hazards.The German Social Accident Insurance Institutions characterized the essential working areas of an airport apron in 2018 in Part 1 of this publication, and described possible exposures to hazardous substances.The results for the hazardous substances most frequently measured, namely diesel particulate matter emissions, respirable and inhalable dust fractions, benzene, hydrocarbon mixtures (evaluated by means of the RCP), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), have now been compiled in this part of the publication.These measurements were often performed under worst-case conditions; the results nevertheless generally lie substantially below the occupational exposure limits.The German Social Accident Insurance Institutions thus conclude that the measured values may be classified as not presenting a health risk. Measurement results are also presented for ultrafine particles. Here too, the measurements were performed under worst-case conditions; the results are therefore generally higher than those obtained in previous studies.The differences can be explained by the measurement strategy.The article also reports observations regarding biomonitoring among workers on the airport apron.