Underground salt and potash workers exposed to nitrogen oxides and diesel exhaust: assessment of specific effect biomarkers.

"Declarations Conflict of interestJ. Bünger, D. Pallapies, D. Taeger, S. Casjens, A. Molkenthin, S. Neumann, and T. Brüning, as staff of the Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine (IPA), were employed until the end of 2021 at the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI), a public body. IPA is an independent research institute of the Ruhr University Bochum.J. Giesen and V. Neumann, as staff of the Institute for the Research on Hazardous Substances (IGF), Bochum, Germany, are also employed at the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI). IGF is an independent research institute.L. Gamrad-Streubel, L.-M. Haase, K. K. Rudolph, K. Rühle, T. Birk, A. M. Bachand and L. Crawford are staff of Ramboll, a consultancy which was responsible for the design, implementation, and analyses of the study as an independent party. K. A. Mundt provided study design and technical support as an independent consultant under an agreement with Ramboll. In addition, it should be noted that he is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. Ramboll was commissioned by the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI) to conduct the study.The authors are independent of the sponsors in all aspects of this research including study design, access to the collected data, responsibility for data analysis and interpretation, and the right to publish. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the sponsors. Ethical approvalThe study methods were reviewed and approved prior to data collection by the independent ethical review committee of the Ruhr University Bochum (registration no.: 17-6024). Following informed consent by the participants, study data were pseudonymized for identity protection and are reported in the aggregate. This study was performed in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent to participateWritten informed consent was obtained from all study participants. They were informed about the study in advance and were also informed by the study physician. Consent to publishStudy participants signed informed consent regarding evaluation and publication of the data. Collected data were pseudonymized and results were presented in the aggregate to protect individual identities. Conflict of interest J. Bünger, D. Pallapies, D. Taeger, S. Casjens, A. Molkenthin, S. Neumann, and T. Brüning, as staff of the Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine (IPA), were employed until the end of 2021 at the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI), a public body. IPA is an independent research institute of the Ruhr University Bochum.J. Giesen and V. Neumann, as staff of the Institute for the Research on Hazardous Substances (IGF), Bochum, Germany, are also employed at the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI). IGF is an independent research institute.L. Gamrad-Streubel, L.-M. Haase, K. K. Rudolph, K. Rühle, T. Birk, A. M. Bachand and L. Crawford are staff of Ramboll, a consultancy which was responsible for the design, implementation, and analyses of the study as an independent party. K. A. Mundt provided study design and technical support as an independent consultant under an agreement with Ramboll. In addition, it should be noted that he is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. Ramboll was commissioned by the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI) to conduct the study.The authors are independent of the sponsors in all aspects of this research including study design, access to the collected data, responsibility for data analysis and interpretation, and the right to publish. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the sponsors."

"Funding This study was funded by the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (“Berufsgenossenschaft Rohstoffe und chemische Industrie”, BG RCI), Heidelberg, Germany, as the main sponsor. The mining company K + S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH, Kassel, Germany, contributed on a pro rata basis to the costs. The entire budget was held in trust by BG RCI. However, all parties involved either had a contractual relationship with or are institutes of the BG RCI. No direct funding was received from the mining company. Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung"