| Document ID (ISN) | 104134 |
| CIS number |
05-308 |
| ISSN - Serial title |
0340-0131 - International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health |
| Year |
2003 |
| Convention or series no. |
|
| Author(s) |
Fritschi L., Sim M.R., Forbes A., Abramson M.J., Benke G., Musk A.W., de Klerk N.H. |
| Title |
Respiratory symptoms and lung-function changes with exposure to five substances in aluminium smelters |
| Bibliographic information |
Mar. 2003, Vol.76, No.2, p.103-110. 28 ref. |
| Abstract |
To determine whether occupational exposures contribute to respiratory symptoms among workers involved in the production of primary aluminium, a cross-sectional survey of 1,615 male employees of two Australian aluminium smelters was conducted. Subjects underwent spirometry and were asked about respiratory symptoms and the relationship of those symptoms to work. Their job histories were combined with a task-exposure matrix to produce individual quantitative measures of cumulative exposure to fluoride, sulphur dioxide, respirable dust, the benzene-soluble fraction of coal tar pitch volatiles (BSF) and oil mist. After adjusting for smoking and age, it was found that subjects with the highest cumulative exposure to fluoride (>0.16mg/m3 years) and respirable dust (>2.9mg/m3 years) were two to four times more likely to report work-related wheeze and chest tightness than were unexposed subjects. Lower prevalence ratios for the same symptoms were seen with sulphur dioxide and BSF. Levels of lung function decreased slightly with exposure to oil mist, but not with cumulative exposure to other substances. |
| Descriptors (primary) |
aluminium industry; respiratory impairment; pulmonary function; harmful substances |
| Descriptors (secondary) |
Australia; oil mist; fluorides; symptoms; respirable dust; coal tar; sulfur dioxide; cross-sectional study; long-term exposure; respiratory function tests; spirometry; job-exposure relation; exposure evaluation |
| Document type |
D - Periodical articles |
| Country / State or Province | Australia |
| Subject(s) |
Metal production and metalworking
|
| Broad subject area(s) |
Chemical safety
Occupational medicine, epidemiology
|
| Browse category(ies) |
Diseases of the respiratory system (except for pneumoconiosis & similar)
Smelting and refining operations
|
