Pollutants in the Workplace: Effect on Occupational Asthma

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kelly KJ ; Poole JA
• Description:
  Pollutant and allergen exposures encountered at the workplace can cause or exacerbate asthma, and these potential pollutants are numerous, varying, and often underrecognized. Commonly, these causative pollutants are associated with a specific immunologic response, referred to as occupational sensitizers, and are broadly classified as high-molecular-weight (HMW) and low-molecular-weight (LMW) agents. HMW agents include vertebrate and invertebrate animal, plant, bacterial, and fungal exposures commonly encountered in farming, laboratories, office buildings, health care, and processing/harvesting environments. LMW agents, such as diisocyanates, wood dusts, chemicals, biocides, and acid anhydrides, are usually encountered in painting, industrial, health care, cleaning, and hairdressing work. Pollutants can also induce asthma in the absence of a specific immunologic response that can be observed after high-level exposure referred to as irritant-induced occupational asthma. The collapse of the World Trade Center, which created exposure to very high concentrations of highly irritating dusts, gases, and fumes, is an example of irritant-induced occupational asthma experienced by emergency first responders. In this brief review the current perspective and paradigm shifts of workplace pollutants focused on latex and farm sensitizers with occupational asthma are examined. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Asthma, Occupational Hypersensitivity Immune System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Industry Agriculture Allergens Allergy Asthma Author Keywords: Occupational Farm Immune Reaction Latex Occupational Asthma Pollutants Sensitizers

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• ISSN:
  0091-6749
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Nebraska ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  143
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056446
• Citation:
  J Allergy Clin Immunol 2019 Jun; 143(6):2014-2015
• Contact Point Address:
  Jill A. Poole, MD, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy Division, 985990 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5990
• Email:
  japoole@unmc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Nebraska Medical Center - Omaha
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20110901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
• End Date:
  20270831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e89eb690de637a46c02852b46eacb75967b3d4a377913266a8f754617bde2537b77481055ff8e4b01041c0c333c65383f3855f9eeb2c0ae9a3fe3c7594b6932b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214052/cdc_214052_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 301.85 KB ]