Increased inflammation and oxidative stress caused by accumulated metal particle exposure among metro station staff, Tianjin, China, 2023

Metro is a significant part of world transport, delivering over 58 billion passengers annually. The dilution effect of particulate matter (PM) from natural ventilation was limited in underground metro stations. What's worse, train operation processes generated PM rich in heavy metals. Though PM pollution in metro stations was reported widely, there is limited evidence of the adverse health effect of metro station PM. This dataset collected urinary samples from 74 metro station staff from three different metro stations in Tianjin, China, for inflammation and oxidative stress biomarker tests to better understand the potential health effects induced by metal particulates in metro stations. Also, an indoor air quality survey was conducted simultaneously in the metro stations.