Evaluation of a Preventive Program to Reduce Sensitization at a Beryllium Metal, Oxide, and Alloy Production Plant

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bailey, Rachel L. ; Deubner, David C. ; Kent MS ; Kreiss, Kathleen ; Schuler, Christine R. ; Thomas CA
• Description:
  Objective: We evaluated a workplace preventive program's effectiveness, which emphasized skin and respiratory protection, workplace cleanliness, and beryllium migration control in lowering beryllium sensitization. Methods: We compared sensitization prevalence and incidence rates for workers hired before and after the program using available cross sectional and longitudinal surveillance data. Results: Sensitization prevalence was 8.9% for the Pre-Program Group and 2.1% for the Program Group. The sensitization incidence rate was 3.7/1000 person-months for the Pre-Program Group and 1.7/1000 person-months for the Program Group. After making adjustments for potential selection and information bias, sensitization prevalence for the Pre-Program Group was 3.8 times higher (95% CI = 1.5 to 9.3) than the Program Group. The sensitization incidence rate ratio comparing the Pre- Program Group to the Program Group was 1.6 (95% CI = 0.8 to 3.6). Conclusions: This preventive program reduced the prevalence of but did not eliminate beryllium sensitization. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Beryllium Biomarkers Hypersensitivity Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Skin
• Keywords:
  Beryllium-compounds Beryllium-disease Disease-prevention Occupational-exposure Respiratory-protection Sensitization Skin-protection Statistical-analysis Surveillance-programs
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036808
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2010 May; 52(5):505-512
• Contact Point Address:
  Rachel L. Bailey, DO, MPH, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, Field Studies Branch, Mail Stop H2800, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  RLBailey@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Beryllium (CAS RN 7440-41-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ef04d9d5fbf488115f0b9fdb8e91011e4b27230b78b656a4c8957beb85ec1efd0793c7501a5861b0b63b798f5d13b05b798ecb89c188bc39cc17208c51ce1d2d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188073/cdc_188073_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 177.19 KB ]