Investigation of Cooking Aerosol Emissions and Health Effects due to Exposure in an Occupational Cohort

Environmental studies show that workers that are exposed to air pollution have an increased risk to adverse health or cardiopulmonary outcomes. Air pollution can include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), black carbon (BC), and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and each compound has unique toxicological effects. Emissions from cooking processes, such as combustion or high temperature frying, are highly complex and variable due to factors such as oil type, temperature, cooking technique, food type, and fuel type. Toxicological data on cooking emissions in industrial kitchens remain limited as household kitchen and laboratory experiments do not accurately reflect the working conditions of culinary workers who often face longer aerosol exposure periods in restaurant kitchens, where standard workweeks can range from 50 to 70 hours. Furthermore, epidemiological data on the health of cooking professionals have yet to be published in a U.S. context. To address these gaps, I propose a systematic characterization of cooking emissions in U.S. commercial, western-style kitchens and an investigation into the health of career culinary workers. I hypothesize these occupational environments subject cooks to high amounts of toxic aerosols, resulting in a disproportionate risk for adverse cardiopulmonary health outcomes. This study will provide critical data on an industry that employs approximately 10% of the U.S. workforce, as occupational exposure to cooking emissions has not been systematically characterized, and the inhalable industrial kitchen environment may pose health risks to the 2.6 million culinary workers in the U.S. Preliminary data gathered from seven restaurant kitchens by our lab have quantified levels of PM2.5 and BC that are cause for further investigation into health risks from aerosol exposure. This exposure assessment will progress through two specific aims: Aim 1: Quantitatively assess the levels, trends, and composition of cooking emissions in western-style restaurants using a stratified sampling process and conduct a mixtures based exposure assessment with the collected data; Aim 2: Preliminarily investigate the health status and future health risks of culinary workers through cardiopulmonary and urinary biomarkers to assess occupational exposure to cooking emissions. The findings of this investigation will provide valuable toxicological data on the occupational health risks faced by culinary workers in the food service industry. This study serves as a necessary first step to improve health outcomes for millions of workers in the food service industry.