Investigation of respiratory and dermal symptoms associated with metal working fluids at an aircraft engine manufacturing facility

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chen L ; Hudson N ; Meza F
• Description:
  Background: Each year, 1.2 million metalworkers are exposed to metalworking fluids (MWFs), which can cause dermal and respiratory disease. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a health hazard evaluation of MWF exposures at an aircraft engine manufacturing facility. The objectives were to determine employee exposures to endotoxin and MWFs in the air, characterize symptoms experienced by employees working with MWFs, compare them to symptoms of employees unexposed to MWFs, and make recommendations for reducing exposures based on results. Methods: Four hundred seven workers were categorized as MWF exposed or MWF unexposed and completed questionnaires. Estimated prevalence ratios (PR) of dermatitis, asthma, and work-related asthma (WRA) symptoms were calculated. Airborne concentrations of MWF and endotoxin were measured, and work practices observed. Results: MWF exposed workers had a significantly higher prevalence of dermatitis on wrists/forearms (PR 2.59; 95% CI 1.22, 5.46), asthma symptoms (PR 1.49; 95% CI 1.05, 2.13), and WRA symptoms (PR 2.10; 95% CI 1.22, 3.30) than unexposed workers. Airborne concentrations of MWF were below the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL) for MWF aerosols (thoracic particulate mass). Conclusions: Despite MWF exposures below the NIOSH REL, exposed workers had a higher prevalence of asthma, WRA, and dermatitis symptoms than unexposed workers. Recommendations to reduce exposure included configuring mist collectors to automatically turn on when the machine is in use, and enforcing enclosure use. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aircraft Asthma Asthma, Occupational Dermatitis Endotoxins Environmental Monitoring Epidemiology Fungi Metals Metal Workers Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Skin Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Aircraft-engines Aircraft-parts-and-auxiliary-equipment Aircraft Engine Manufacturing Asthma Author Keywords: Metalworking Fluid Bacteria Bronchial-asthma Contact-dermatitis Control-methods Employee-exposure Endotoxin Exposure-assessment Exposure-limits Fluids Health-surveys HETA 2010-0144-3164 Metal-workers Metalworking Metalworking-fluids Metalworking-industry Microbial Contamination MWF Mycobacteria Particulates Questionnaires Respiratory-system-disorders Skin-exposure Skin-irritants Skin-sensitivity Surveillance-programs Thoracic Particulates Work-practices

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  56
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043282
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2013 Dec; 56(12):1394-1401
• Contact Point Address:
  Lilia Chen, MS, CIH, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Mailstop R-10, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  fto3@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0978d05ad544f7756c3a2c66d1e364b4793c84a0a5718febdfdfe317aec02ff760b3864b30915d1c862af4830a47af59e149ddb87dbb339db9aceafe58feefd3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195214/cdc_195214_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 122.96 KB ]