Obliterative bronchiolitis in fibreglass workers: a new occupational disease

Details

• Personal Author:
  Banks J ; Burge PS ; Chen CH ; Cullinan P ; Howell T ; Kreiss, Kathleen ; Maher TM ; McGavin CR ; Newman Taylor AJ ; Nicholson AG ; Shih TS ; Tsai PJ
• Description:
  Rationale and objectives: Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) is a rare disease with a small number of established occupational aetiologies. We describe a case series of severe OB in workers making glass-reinforced plastics. Methods: Workplace exposures were the likely cause after the independent diagnosis of OB in two workers laying up the fibreglass hulls of yachts; the second worker took over the job of the first after he left following a lung transplant. Presentation of these two cases at international meetings led to others identifying similar workers. Main results: We identified six workers with good evidence of OB. All were involved in preparing fibreglass with styrene resins, five as boat builders laying up fibreglass hulls and one during cooling-tower fabrication. The disease came on rapidly without unusual acute exposures. Two patients had lung transplants, while another died while waiting for one. Histology confirmed OB in the four with biopsies/post-mortem examinations or explanted lungs. Conclusions: A rare, potentially fatal disease occurring in six workers laying up fibreglass with styrene resins from five different worksites suggests that work exposures were the cause of their OB. The precise agent responsible awaits identification. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Glass Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Health Plastics Polystyrenes Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Ships Styrene Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Boat-manufacturing-industry Diseases Exposure-levels Fiberglass-industry Glass-products Lung-disease Lung-disorders Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiration Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-factors Styrene-resins Work-areas Work-environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; 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
• Pages in Document:
  357-359
• Volume:
  70
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20042497
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2013 May; 70(5):357-359
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Paul Cullinan, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, 1b Manresa Road, London SW3 6LR, UK
• Email:
  p.cullinan@imperial.ac.uk
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7e5eddada466c48bca56ca91e10ed0b3dea979cd98276c2b250d33f809b03450f8dbbef32196b2101d27351e83aca8a59fecff09806a83d27a0fbdace9706ce8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194707/cdc_194707_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 78.07 KB ]