Beryllium sensitization and disease among workers in a ceramics plant.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cumro D ; Deubner, David C. ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Kent MS ; Kreiss, Kathleen ; McCawley MA
• Description:
  Rationale: Workers in a beryllium ceramics plant were screened for beryllium sensitization and disease in 1998, six years after a similar plant-wide screening in 1992. Methods: All current workers were invited to complete a questionnaire, to provide blood for the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT), and to receive diagnostic follow-up in the event of a positive BeLPT. Beryllium disease was defined as a positive bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) BeLPT and/or characteristic granulomas on lung biopsy. Results: With the exclusion of one person who had a BeLPT+ finding in the 1992 screening, there were 150 participants. Fourteen (9.3%) were BeLPT+, and follow-up revealed 8 (5.3%) had beryllium disease. The proportion sensitized was about the same for both the 74 short-term workers (7/74=9.5%) hired since the 1992 survey and the 76 long-term workers (7/76=9.2%) hired before the 1992 survey. The 7 sensitized short-term workers had been hired within the past two years and only one had beryllium disease. The 7 sensitized long-term workers had been hired at least 8 years earlier and all had beryllium disease. Machinists had been at higher risk for sensitization in the 1992 survey, and this was still evident in the current study among long-term workers (6/39=15%) but not short-term workers (2/36=6%). Conclusions: The findings suggest that beryllium sensitization can occur after a short period of exposure, but beryllium disease requires a longer latency or period of exposure. The apparent improvement among machinists might be due to exposure control efforts implemented after the 1992 survey. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Ceramics Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Beryllium disease; Beryllium poisoning; Ceramics industry; Respiratory irritants; Respiratory system disorders; Pulmonary disorders; Pulmonary system disorders; Lung disorders; Lung irritants; Sensitivity testing
• ISSN:
  1073-449X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• 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:
  163
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021327
• Citation:
  Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2001 Apr; 163(5)(2)(Suppl):A242
• CAS Registry Number:
  Beryllium (CAS RN 7440-41-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Part Number:
  2
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Abstracts of the American Thoracic Society 2001 International Conference, May 18-23, 2001, San Francisco, California
• Supplement:
  Suppl
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/247951/cdc_247951_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]