Beryllium Sensitization and Disease Among Long-Term and Short-Term Workers in a Beryllium Ceramics Plant

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cumro D ; Deubner DD ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Kent MS ; Kreiss, Kathleen ; McCawley M
• Description:
  Workers at a beryllium ceramics plant were tested for beryllium sensitization and disease in 1998 to determine whether the plant-wide prevalence of sensitization and disease had declined since the last screening in 1992; an elevated prevalence was associated with specific processes or with high exposures; exposure-response relationships differed for long-term workers hired before the last plant-wide screening and short-term workers hired since then. METHODS: Current workers were asked to complete a questionnaire and to provide blood for the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). Those with an abnormal BeLPT were classified as sensitized, and were offered clinical evaluation for beryllium disease. Task- and time-specific measurements of airborne beryllium were combined with individual work histories to compute mean, cumulative, and peak beryllium exposures for each worker. RESULTS: The 151 participants represented 90% of 167 eligible workers. Fifteen (9.9% of 151) had an abnormal BeLPT and were split between long-term workers (8/77 = 10.4%) and short-term workers (7/74 = 9.5%). Beryllium disease was detected in 9.1% (7/77) of long-term workers but in only 1.4% (1/74) of short-term workers (P = 0.06), for an overall prevalence of 5.3% (8/151). These prevalences were similar to those observed in the earlier survey. The prevalence of sensitization was elevated in 1992 among machinists, and was still elevated in 1998 among long-term workers (7/40 = 18%) but not among short-term workers (2/36 = 6%) with machining experience. The prevalence of sensitization was also elevated in both groups of workers for the processes of lapping, forming, firing, and packaging. The data suggested a positive relationship between peak beryllium exposure and sensitization for long-term workers and between mean, cumulative, and peak exposure and sensitization for short-term workers, although these findings were not statistically significant. Long-term workers with either a high peak exposure or work experience in forming were more likely to have an abnormal BeLPT (8/51 = 16%) than the other long-term workers (0/26, P = 0.05). All seven sensitized short-term workers either had high mean beryllium exposure or had worked longest in forming or machining (7/55 = 13% versus 0/19, P = 0.18). CONCLUSIONS: A plant-wide decline in beryllium exposures between the 1992 and 1998 surveys was not matched by a decline in the prevalence of sensitization and disease. Similar to findings from other studies, beryllium sensitization/disease was associated with specific processes and elevated exposures. The contrast in disease prevalence between long-term and short-term workers suggests that beryllium sensitization can occur after a short period of exposure, but beryllium disease usually requires a longer latency and/or period of exposure. The findings from this study motivated interventions to more aggressively protect and test workers, and new research into skin exposure as a route of sensitization and the contribution of individual susceptibility. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Beryllium Epidemiology Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Beryllium Disease Beryllium-disease Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Test Exposure-levels Exposure-response Long-term-study Short-term-exposure Surveillance
• ISSN:
  0340-0131
• 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:
  167-176
• Volume:
  74
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021744
• Citation:
  Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2001 Apr; 74(3):167-176
• Contact Point Address:
  Paul K. Henneberger, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1095 Willowdale Raod, M/S H-2800, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:58d1ee847b989b315062ff0251c68678ba79ebb69500d7474eb0f8cd1a2c167c5c2169d91628a6235003a145a7316282126ea891e4ecbb88fd5b35dd6965fe4d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198853/cdc_198853_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 122.49 KB ]