TABLE I.
Prevalence of Exposure to Select Potentially hazardous Workplace Exposures Among US Adults Who Worked in the Past 12 Months, by Demographic Characteristics
| Samplea,c | Est. population (in thousands) | Frequent occupational skin contact with chemicalsa |
Frequently work outdoorsa |
Non-smokers frequently exposed to SHS at worka |
Currently non-smokera |
Frequent exposure to vapors, gas, dust, or fumes at workb |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casesc | %(95% CI) | Casesc | %(95% CI) | Casesc | %d(95%CI) | Casesc | %(95%CI) | Casesc | %(95% CI) | |||
| Sex | ||||||||||||
| Male | 8,500 | 81,412 | 1,908 | 23.4 (22.3–24.6) | 3,208 | 37.2 (35.9–38.5) | 887 | 13.1 (12.2–14.2) | 6,628 | 78.8 (77.7–79.8) | 2,822 | 33.3 (32.1–34.5) |
| Female | 9,024 | 73,850 | 1,538 | 17.4 (16.5–18.4) | 989 | 10.9 (10.2–11.7) | 528 | 6.7 (6.0–7.4) | 7,373 | 82.0 (81.0–83.0) | 1,479 | 15.8 (14.9–16.7) |
| Age group(yrs.) | ||||||||||||
| 18–29 | 4,059 | 38,916 | 868 | 22.8 (21.2–24.6) | 910 | 23.3 (21.6–25.0) | 418 | 13.6 (12.1–15.3) | 3,171 | 78.0 (76.3–79.6) | 873 | 22.0 (20.5–23.7) |
| 30–44 | 5,967 | 49,624 | 1,243 | 21.5 (20.3–22.8) | 1,451 | 24.9 (23.6–26.3) | 531 | 10.5 (9.5–11.5) | 4,788 | 79.9 (78.6–81.2) | 1,503 | 25.6 (24.3–27.0) |
| 45–64 | 6,506 | 59,041 | 1,226 | 19.5 (18.3–20.7) | 1,587 | 25.3 (24.0–26.7) | 416 | 7.9 (7.1–8.9) | 5,162 | 80.9 (79.7–82.0) | 1,713 | 26.7 (25.3–28.1) |
| ≥65 | 992 | 7,681 | 109 | 11.1 (9.0–13.7) | 249 | 25.3 (22.0–28.9) | 50 | 5.5 (4.0–7.5) | 880 | 90.1 (87.8–91.9) | 212 | 22.1 (19.2–25.2) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||||||||
| Non-Hispanic white | 9,997 | 106,033 | 2,061 | 21.2 (20.3–22.2) | 2,394 | 24.5 (23.5–25.6) | 672 | 8.9 (8.2–9.7) | 7,716 | 78.2 (77.2–79.2) | 2,488 | 25.1 (24.1–26.1) |
| Non-Hispanic black | 2,600 | 16,822 | 460 | 18.5 (16.6–20.5) | 581 | 22.5 (20.4–24.7) | 286 | 14.5 (12.6–16.5) | 2,076 | 81.4 (79.5–83.1) | 658 | 25.6 (23.5–27.7) |
| Non-Hispanic Asian | 1,112 | 7,278 | 142 | 13.1 (10.8–15.8) | 121 | 10.3 (8.3–12.6) | 61 | 6.8 (4.9–9.4) | 977 | 89.8 (87.5–91.6) | 138 | 12.3 (10.2–14.8) |
| Non-Hispanic other race | 351 | 2,856 | 72 | 20.3 (15.5–26.1) | 77 | 25.3 (19.7–31.9) | 30 | 11.8 (7.9–17.4) | 255 | 75.2 (69.3–80.3) | 102 | 27.6 (22.6–33.2) |
| Hispanic | 3,464 | 22,273 | 711 | 21.5 (19.8–23.3) | 1,024 | 31.8 (29.9–33.8) | 366 | 12.2 (10.8–13.8) | 2,977 | 87.0 (85.5–88.3) | 915 | 27.6 (25.7–29.6) |
| Marital status | ||||||||||||
| Married | 8,105 | 86,431 | 1,526 | 19.3 (18.3–20.4) | 2,038 | 25.7 (24.5–26.9) | 579 | 8.3 (7.6–9.0) | 6,914 | 85.0 (84.1–86.0) | 2,005 | 25.2 (24.1–26.3) |
| Widowed | 514 | 2,902 | 77 | 15.9 (12.5–19.8) | 99 | 19.5 (15.9–23.6) | 25 | 5.8 (3.7–8.8) | 408 | 77.6 (73.1–81.5) | 120 | 21.7 (18.3–25.6) |
| Divorced or separated | 2,983 | 17,626 | 592 | 21.5 (19.8–23.3) | 707 | 24.6 (22.8–26.5) | 270 | 12.8 (11.1–14.7) | 2,219 | 73.4 (71.5–75.3) | 795 | 27.1 (25.3–29.0) |
| Never married | 4,661 | 35,565 | 951 | 22.0 (20.5–23.7) | 1,029 | 22.5 (21.0–24.1) | 444 | 13.2 (11.7–14.8) | 3,623 | 78.3 (76.7–79.8) | 1,013 | 21.7 (20.2–23.3) |
| Living with partner | 1,232 | 12,564 | 296 | 24.8 (22.2–27.6) | 319 | 25.3 (22.6–28.2) | 95 | 11.6 (9.3–14.3) | 814 | 63.9 (60.8–66.8) | 360 | 30.1 (27.2–33.2) |
| Educationee | ||||||||||||
| Less than HS diploma | 1,812 | 13,049 | 463 | 27.3 (24.9–29.9) | 675 | 39.5 (36.7–42.4) | 169 | 13.5 (11.3–16.1) | 1,350 | 71.7 (69.1–74.2) | 639 | 38.1 (35.5–40.9) |
| HS/GEDdiploma | 3,685 | 32,164 | 931 | 27.1 (25.4–28.9) | 1,113 | 33.0 (31.1–34.9) | 343 | 13.3 (11.8–14.9) | 2,628 | 70.7 (68.7–72.5) | 1,249 | 35.7 (33.8–37.6) |
| Some college | 4,656 | 39,755 | 992 | 22.5 (21.0–24.1) | 1,150 | 26.5 (24.9–28.1) | 426 | 11.4 (10.2–12.7) | 3,595 | 77.9 (76.4–79.4) | 1,306 | 29.2 (27.6–30.9) |
| BA/BS and higher | 5,284 | 48,309 | 596 | 11.3 (10.3–12.4) | 775 | 14.4 (13.3–15.6) | 239 | 4.7 (4.0–5.4) | 4,754 | 91.1 (90.2–92.0) | 658 | 12.3 (11.3–13.4) |
| Place of residence | ||||||||||||
| Large MSA | 9,796 | 84,107 | 1,684 | 17.9 (17.0–19.0) | 2,096 | 21.8 (20.8–22.9) | 770 | 9.3 (8.5–10.2) | 8,045 | 82.4 (81.4–83.3) | 2,129 | 21.8 (20.7–22.9) |
| Small MSA | 5,266 | 48,741 | 1,154 | 22.5 (21.0–24.2) | 1,315 | 26.0 (24.5–27.5) | 422 | 10.5 (9.4–11.7) | 4,123 | 79.7 (78.2–81.1) | 1,366 | 26.2 (24.8–27.7) |
| Not in MSA | 2,462 | 22,414 | 608 | 26.1 (24.1–28.2) | 786 | 32.7 (30.0–35.5) | 223 | 11.6 (10.2–13.2) | 1,833 | 74.1 (71.8–76.2) | 806 | 34.0 (31.9–36.1) |
| Regionf | ||||||||||||
| Northeast | 2,685 | 27,043 | 465 | 18.2 (16.5–20.1) | 531 | 20.6 (18.7–22.7) | 185 | 8.1 (6.9–9.6) | 2,194 | 82.4 (80.5–84.1) | 565 | 22.4 (20.5–24.5) |
| Midwest | 3,948 | 36,932 | 862 | 23.1 (21.4–24.9) | 848 | 22.8 (20.9–24.9) | 289 | 9.8 (8.6–11.2) | 3,019 | 77.8 (76.2–79.4) | 1,041 | 26.7 (25.0–28.4) |
| South | 6,421 | 54,415 | 1,289 | 21.0 (19.7–22.3) | 1,641 | 26.5 (25.1–27.9) | 580 | 11.6 (10.5–12.8) | 5,048 | 78.5 (77.1–79.8) | 1,623 | 25.8 (24.5–27.2) |
| West | 4,470 | 36,873 | 830 | 19.1 (17.6–20.7) | 1,177 | 26.9 (25.3–28.6) | 361 | 9.3 (8.1–10.6) | 3,740 | 84.0 (82.6–85.3) | 1,072 | 23.8 (22.3–25.4) |
| Total | 17,524 | 155,262 | 3,446 | 20.6 (19.8–21.3) | 4,197 | 24.7 (23.9–25.6) | 1,415 | 10.0 (9.4–10.6) | 14,001 | 80.3 (79.5–81.1) | 4,301 | 25.0 (24.2–25.8) |
SHS, secondhand smoke; Est, estimated; Cl, confidence interval; HS, high school; GED, general educational development; BA/BS, bachelor's; MSA, metropolitan statistical area. Data: National Health InterviewSurvey, 2010.
All estimates weighted unless otherwise noted. Data include only U.S. working adults who are part of the civilian non-institutionalized population.
Refers to most recently held job.
Refers to longest-held job.
Unweighted.
These proportions pertain only to non-smokers. To estimate the non-smoking population exposed to SHS, one first needs to multiply this proportion with the proportion of non-smokers and then multiply this product by the estimated population.
Education only shown for persons aged 25 years and over.
States were grouped into the following four regions used by the U.S. Census Bureau: Northeast: ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA; Midwest: OH, IL, IN, MI, WI, MN, IA, MO, ND, SD, KS, NE; South: DE, MD, DC, WV, VA, KY, TN, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, OK, AR, TX; West: WA, OR, CA, NV, NM, AZ, ID, UT, CO, MT, WY, AK, HI.