Respiratory health effects from occupational exposure to wood dusts.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Goldsmith DF ; Shy, Carl M.
• Description:
  The risk of nonmalignant respiratory disease resulting from exposure to wood dust was reviewed through case studies and epidemiological evidence. The types of wood which have caused documented cases of such diseases were listed. The effects observed in susceptible individuals have included asthma, rhinitis, dyspnea, wheezing, nocturnal tight chestedness, cough, reduced pulmonary function, upper respiratory irritation, hypersensitivity, sweating, pneumonitis, bronchitis, rhinorrhea, fever, sneezing, and nasal itching. The patients studied had exposure periods ranging from a few days to 18 years. Extracts of some of these woods have produced positive wheals when skin patch tests were done. In the asthma syndrome produced by exposure to western red-cedar, plicatic-acid (16462650) has been identified as the causative agent. Epidemiological studies on respiratory effects of exposure to western red-cedar and other woods were compared. Nasal clearance and nasal mucosa changes, early precursors of nasal cancer, have been investigated in woodworkers and other subjects. Rhinitis and nasal dysplasia were found to be common among European furniture workers. It was hypothesized that after decades of exposure to fine wood dust, tissue injury is produced which may eventually initiate mucostasis and metaplasia, leading to adenocarcinoma of the nasal sinuses. The authors recommend that pulmonary injury or symptoms be examined as possible precursors of nasal cancer and other respiratory conditions in woodworkers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Irritants Lung Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Airborne-dusts Author Keywords: Nasal Clearance Dust-inhalation Lung-function Lung-irritants NIOSH-Grant NIOSH-Publication Plant-dusts Pulmonary-function-tests Pulmonary-system-disorders Pulmonary Function Respiratory-irritants Respiratory Symptoms Western Red Cedar Asthma Woodworker's Asthma

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• ISSN:
  0355-3140
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-15
• Volume:
  14
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00180067
• Citation:
  Scand J Work Environ Health 1988 Feb; 14(1):1-15
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr DF Goldsmith, Northern California Occupational Health Center, LEHR, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
• CAS Registry Number:
  Plicatic acid (CAS RN 16462-65-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1988
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19820301
• Source Full Name:
  Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• End Date:
  19831231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b359c71ea7d511f3a847682f50dede66c006dacb2de62d6661055c386aec7f5a6735ccc13779d0dc6bd89b57adf0a2d880cf40dcec23ee7e890ca0632c193bcd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/185537/cdc_185537_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 10.91 MB ]