The floor polish removal (FPR) and reapplication (FPA) are important cleaning tasks in public buildings that have hard floor surfaces. Usually, the FPR and FPA are conducted once or twice a year, during the periodic cleaning of these buildings. The FPR can be performed either chemically (CFPR) or by using dry scrubber (DFPR), when the polish is ground from the floor. In this study, cleaning workers’ exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) during the FPR and FPA, and the differences in the exposures between the two FPR methods were investigated. In total, three buildings located in Central Finland were included, and total of six cleaning workers (two per building) participated in the study. In Buildings 1 and 2, the CFPR and FPA were performed and in Building 3, the DFPR was conducted. TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) concentrations in the breathing zone of the workers during the CFPR were 8,740 and 390 µg/m³ (SD 3,290 and 180 µg/m³) for Buildings 1 and 2, respectively. During the DFPR in Building 3, the average TVOC concentration was 400 µg/m³ (SD 180 µg/m³, stationary sampling). The TVOC concentrations during the FPA were high, 1,640 and 2,170 µg/m³ on average (SD 1,570 and 930 µg/m³) for Buildings 1 and 2, respectively. Glycol ethers were the most prominent VOCs during the CFPR and FPA, whereas carboxylic acids were the most common during the DFPR. The inhalable dust concentrations in the workers’ breathing zone were noticeably higher during the DFPR (1.55 mg/m³ on average, SD 0.01 mg/m³) than the CFPR (0.24 mg/m³ on average, SD 0.05 mg/m³). Finnish occupational exposure limit value for organic inhalable dust is 5 mg/m³. As the products used during the CFPR and FPA contain glycol ethers and ethanolamines that are absorbed via the skin as well, the use of skin protection is recommended. Whereas the use of FFP3 respirators and skin protection are recommended during the DFPR to prevent the PM exposure.

在具有坚硬地板表面的公共建筑中，清除地板蜡（FPR）和重新涂抹（FPA）是重要的清洁任务。通常，在定期清洁这些建筑物期间，每年进行一次FPR和FPA。当从地板上打磨抛光剂时，可以通过化学方法（CFPR）或使用干式洗涤器（DFPR）进行FPR。在这项研究中，研究了清洁工人在FPR和FPA期间暴露于挥发性有机化合物（VOC）和颗粒物（PM）的情况，并研究了两种FPR方法之间暴露的差异。总共包括位于芬兰中部的三座建筑物，总共六名清洁工人（每座建筑物两名）参加了研究。在1号楼和2号楼中执行CFPR和FPA，在3号楼中执行DFPR。1号楼和2号楼分别为³（SD 3,290和180 µg / m ³）。在3号楼的DFPR过程中，TVOC的平均浓度为400 µg / m ³（标准差为180 µg / m ³，固定采样）。FPA期间1号楼和2号楼的TVOC浓度分别很高，分别为1,640和2,170 µg / m ³（SD 1,570和930 µg / m ³）。在CFPR和FPA期间，乙二醇醚是最主要的VOC，而在DFPR期间，羧酸是最常见的。DFPR（平均1.55 mg / m ³，SD 0.01 mg / m ³）期间工人呼吸区域的可吸入粉尘浓度明显高于CFPR（0.24 mg / m ^3）平均为SD 0.05 mg / m ³）。芬兰有机可吸入粉尘的职业接触限值是5 mg / m ³。由于CFPR和FPA期间使用的产品还包含乙二醇醚和乙醇胺，它们也可以通过皮肤吸收，因此建议使用皮肤保护剂。推荐在DFPR期间使用FFP3防毒面具并保护皮肤，以防止PM暴露。