Emerging Exposures and Respiratory Health: World Trade Center Dust

Details

• Personal Author:
  Berger K ; Goldring R ; Harrison D ; Oppenheimer B ; Prezant D ; Reibman J ; Rogers L ; Rom, William N. ; Weiden MD
• Description:
  The attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) on 9/11/2001 produced a massive dust cloud with acute exposure, and the rubble pile burning over 3 months exposed more than 300,000 residents, rescue workers, and clean-up workers. Firefighters in the New York City Fire Department had significant respiratory symptoms characterized by cough, dyspnea, gastroesophageal reflux, and nasal stuffiness with a significant 1-year decline in FVC and FEV(1). Bronchial hyperreactivity measured by methacholine challenge correlated with bronchial wall thickening on CT scans. Compared with the NHANES III data for FVC and FEV(1), 32% of 2,000 WTC dust-exposed residents and clean-up workers were below the lower 5th percentile. The most common abnormality was a low FVC pattern, a finding similar to that also described for individuals in rescue and recovery activities. Among those complaining of respiratory symptoms and normal spirometry, almost half had abnormalities detected with impedance oscillometry consistent with distal airways' disease. Follow-up with the WTC Health Registry and the WTC Environmental Health Center will help discern whether treatment with anti-inflammatory medications or bronchodilators in those with respiratory symptoms may prevent the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Environmental Monitoring Hypersensitivity Irritants Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Public Health Respiratory Hypersensitivity Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Allergens Author Keywords: World Trade Center Dust Distal Airway Dust-exposure Dust-measurement Dust-particles Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Inhalation-studies Lung-disorders Occupational-exposure Occupational-hazards Occupational-health Occupational-respiratory-disease Particle-aerodynamics Particle-counters Particulate-dust Particulates Public-health Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-hypersensitivity Respiratory-infections Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Statistical-analysis Work-areas Work-environment Work-operations Work-performance

  More +
• ISSN:
  1546-3222
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; New Jersey ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  142-145
• Volume:
  7
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036762
• Citation:
  Proc Am Thorac Soc 2010 May; 7(2):142-145
• Contact Point Address:
  William N. Rom M.D., MPH, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, 550 1st Ave., New York, NY 10016
• Email:
  william.rom@med.nyu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Performing Organization:
  New York University School of Medicine
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040831
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society
• End Date:
  20110630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:310285f1aacee930ecd0113106097beb5e2f09143940110ac48012a4f789217fbad04d52ff02f86befa8a9b420005ffbf21747708ca42476f92de204df3d9f4a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188054/cdc_188054_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 67.00 KB ]