bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Acute pulmonary responses among automobile workers exposed to aerosols of machining fluids
Authors: Kennedy Susan M. , Greaves Lan A. , Kriebel David , Eisen Ellen A. , Smith Thomas J. , Woskie Susan R. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractPrevious investigations of workers exposed to machining fluids have shown increased rates of cough and phlegm and have shown that these exposures may cause occupational asthma. To examine acute responses to these agents, cross‐shift lung function changes related to machining fluid aerosols among 89 machine operators at two factories producing automobile parts were measured and compared with the findings for 42 unexposed assembly workers studied similarly at the same factories. Workers wore a personal air‐sampling device on a Monday and Friday of a working week, and spirometry was performed before and after the work shifts on both days. On Mondays, a 5% or greater decrease in the forced expiratory volume in 1‐second (FEV1), regarded as an “FEV1‐response,” occurred in 23.6% of the machinists and in only 9.5% of the assembly workers (relative risk = 2.5. p < 0.05). After adjusting statistically for a history of childhood asthma, for smoking prior to lung function testing, and for race, odds ratios for an FEV1‐response of 4.4 among workers exposed to aerosols of straight mineral oils, 5.8 for oil emulsions, and 6.9 for synthetic fluids were found. The FEV1‐responses on Fridays were similar to those on Mondays. There was no progressive decline in FEV1 over the work week. Personal air samples, collected with a two‐stage impactor, allowed aerosol masses to be measured in three size fractions: < 3.5 μm, 3.5–9.8 μm, and > 9.8 μm aerodynamic diameter. Exposure levels to each type of machining fluid were remarkably similar within each size fraction and for total aerosol levels. Total aerosol concentrations for assembly workers ranged from 0.07 to 0.44 mg M3, and for machinists from 0.16 to 2.03 mg/m3. Inhalable particle (⩽ 9.8 μm) levels were derived from the sum of the air concentrations in the two smallest‐size fractions, and significant cross‐shift decrements in FEV1 on Mondays and Fridays were associated with inhalable aerosol levels > 0.20 mg/m3. These findings show that acute airflow obstruction is associated with exposures to aerosols of various machining fluids and that airway responses occur well below current recommended exposure limits.
Medical‐examiner‐reported fatal occupational injuries, North Carolina, 1978–1984
Authors: Sniezek Joseph E. , Horiagon Thomas M. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractFatal occupational injuries are a major public health problem in the U.S. Utilizing a medical examiner database from North Carolina, 1,233 fatal work‐related injuries were identified in a 7‐year time period. Twelve percent of these deaths were in out‐of‐state residents. For men, highest risk industries were forestry/fishery, agriculture, trade, and transportation/public utilities/communications. Only 4% of deaths occurred in women. The most common manner of death in women was homicide. Highest‐risk industries for women were agriculture, trade, and transportation/public utilities/communications. Of 902 decedents tested, alcohol was found in 11%, and 7% had levels at or above 100 mg%. Because of its completeness, the North Carolina Medical Examiner System is a useful tool to use in the surveillance of fatal occupational injuries.
An examination of factors that could affect choice reaction time in histology technicians
Authors: Kilburn Kaye H. , Warshaw Raphael , Thornton John C. , Husmark Ivan 
Published: April 2007

AbstractHistology technicians exposed to formaldehyde and solvents have symptoms and objective evidence of neurobehavioral impairment of memory, judgment, and equilibrium. Because reaction time has been prolonged in many groups of workers exposed to toxicants, choice reaction time was measured in 385 female formaldehyde and solventexposed histology technicians, and 79 unexposed female laboratory workers. Choice reaction time to a visual stimulus (CRT) is defined, for the purpose of this study, as the time required for discriminated cancellation of two different letters on a microcomputer screen by pressing the matching keys. Initial analysis showed that increases in age, years of cigarette smoking, and hours per day of formaldehyde exposure significantly lengthened CRT, but xylene‐toluene exposure had no effect. Since duration of smoking and length of daily formaldehyde exposure were age related, multiple linear regression analysis of CRT was performed using them as independent variables. Increasing age was the only significant factor in lengthening CRT. However, in these female histology technicians, the second measurement one year later was 44 msec faster (p < 0.04). The reason for improved performance is unclear, but it may be an effect of training encompassing familiarity, improved attention, or learning.
Choice (CRT) and simple reaction times (SRT) compared in laboratory technicians: Factors influencing reaction times and a predictive model
Authors: Miller Jeffrey A. , Cohen Gary S. , Warshaw Raphael , Thornton John C. , Kilburn Kaye H. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractChoice reaction time (CRT) and simple reaction time (SRT) tests were administered to 151 female histology laboratory technicians to determine if occupational exposure to organic solvents and formaldehyde delayed either or both. The relationships between CRT and SRT latencies were evaluated using different testers, sequences of administration, and microcomputers. Formaldehyde exposure, cigarette smoking history, ethnicity, and alveolar CO levels did not significantly influence CRT and SRT. However, slightly different protocols did significantly affect SRT. A linear model demonstrated that logSRT (LSRT) and LogCRT (LCRT) were longer with increasing age, promising further clinical applications. It is concluded that both CRT and SRT measure some overlapping and some different neurologic pathways. Reaction times in large “normal” populations are needed to compare with groups exposed to potential neurotoxins.
Silica exposure and silicosis among ontario hardrock miners: II. Exposure estimates
Authors: Verma D. K. , Sebestyen A. , Julian J. A. , Muir D. C. F. , Schmidt H. , Bernholz C. D. , Shannon H. S. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractAn epidemiological investigation was carried out to determine the relationship between silicosis in hardrock miners in Ontario and cumulative exposure to silica (free crystalline silica–‐α quartz) dust. This second report describes a side‐by‐side air‐sampling program used to derive a konimeter/gravimetric silica conversion curve. A total of 2,360 filter samples and 90,000 konimeter samples were taken over 2 years in two mines representing the ore types gold and uranium, both in existing conditions as well as in an experimental stope in which dry drilling was used to simulate the high dust conditions of the past. The method of calculating cumulative respirable silica exposure indices for each miner is reported.
Lead exposure among lead‐acid battery workers in Jamaica
Authors: Matte Thomas D. , Figueroa J. Peter , Burr Gregory , Flesch Jerome P. , Keenlyside Richard A. , Baker Edward L. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractTo assess lead exposure in the Jamaican lead‐acid battery industry, we surveyed three battery manufacturers (including 46 production workers) and 10 battery repair shops (including 23 battery repair workers). Engineering controls and respiratory protection were judged to be inadequate at battery manufacturers and battery repair shops. At manufacturers, 38 of 42 air samples for lead exceeded a work‐shift time‐weighted average concentration of 0.050 mg/m3 (range 0.030–5.3 mg/m3), and nine samples exceeded 0.50 mg/m3. Only one of seven air samples at repair shops exceeded 0.050 mg/m3 (range 0.003–0.066 mg/m3). Repair shop workers, however, had higher blood lead levels than manufacturing workers (65% vs. 28% with blood lead levels above 60 μg/dl, respectively). Manufacturing workers had a higher prevalence of safe hygienic practices and a recent interval of minimal production had occurred at one of the battery manufacturers. Workers with blood lead levels above 60 μg/dl tended to have higher prevalences of most symptoms of lead toxicity than did workers with lower blood lead levels, but this finding was not consistent or statistically significant. The relationship between zinc protoporphyrin concentrations and increasing blood lead concentrations was consistent with that described among workers in developed countries. The high risk of lead toxicity among Jamaican battery workers is consistent with studies of battery workers in other developing countries.
Industry‐related urothelial carcinogens: Application of a job‐exposure matrix to census data
Authors: Steineck Gunnar , Plato Nils , Alfredsson Lars , Norell Staffan E. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractA job‐exposure matrix has been developed linking the work tasks in the Swedish National Census of population 1960 to exposure to 50 single agents or groups of substances. All 1,905,660 men, aged 20‐64 years in 1960, reporting themselves as gainfully employed in the Census, were observed for the occurrence of urothelial cancer 1961‐1979 by linkage to the National Swedish Cancer Registry. Subjects classified as exposed to creosote had a relative risk (with 95% confidence interval) of 2.6 (1.2–5.9) for renal pelvis cancer and 1.3 (1.0–1.8) for urinary bladder cancer; subjects exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) had a relative risk of 1.3 (1.0–1.8) for urinary bladder cancer. Adjustment was made for age, socioeconomic group, and degree of urbanization. Exposure to combustion gases from coal gave a relative risk of 1.2 (1.0–1.4) for bladder cancer. The study carries several sources of nondifferential misclassification diluting the estimates of the relative risks toward 1.0. The limitations of exposure classification by job‐exposure matrices are discussed.
Can the birth certificate yield clues to parental occupational exposures?
Authors: Milham Samuel 
Published: April 2007

AbstractAn analysis of reported birth record variables by parental occupation suggests that certain birth outcomes may identify toxic or carcinogenic occupational exposures of the parents. Fathers coded to an asbestos and insulation worker rubric sired fewer plural births, and more stillbirths than expected. A number of other fathers' occupations with putative exposure to asbestos and increased lung cancer mortality also showed a deficit of plural births.
Mortality among employees of an ontario factory that manufactured construction materials using chrysotile asbestos and coal tar pitch
Authors: Finkelstein Murray M. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThis paper describes mortality in a cohort of 324 men exposed to chrysotile asbestos and coal tar pitch used in the manufacture of electrical conduit pipe from a mixture of newsprint, bentonite, and asbestos. One death in a factory worker was attributed to pleural mesothelioma, and long‐term employees experienced an increased risk of lung cancer (Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) 221; six deaths) and non‐malignant respiratory disease (SMR 215; four deaths). In a case‐control analysis, men whose jobs involved adding asbestos to the mix of raw materials were found to have a risk of lung cancer sevenfold higher (lower 95% confidence limit: 2.3) than men who had never worked at this job. Exposure to coal tar pitch is presumed to be responsible for the death of one worker from squamous cell carcinoma of the scrotum.
Diagnostic value of exercise testing in asbestosis
Authors: Zejda Jan 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThe diagnostic value of simple exercise testing was examined in 81 current male asbestos‐cement workers, divided into four groups according to the International Labour Office (ILO) category of irregular opacities: 0/0, 25; 1/1, 24; 1/2, 22; and 2/2, 10 men. An increasing X‐ray score was accompanied by more severe functional abnormality in keeping with the development of a restrictive defect. Symptom‐limited oxygen uptake (VO2SL) did not depend on the X‐ray grade and was 76.7, 71.9, 68.7, and 73.5% pv, respectively, for the four groups. Subjects with ILO score 1/1 had significantly higher exercise ventilation at O2 uptake of 1.01 · min−1 (VE 1.0) than those with grade 0/0. End‐exercise tidal volume (VTSL in 1) decreased with an increasing X‐ray score: 2.14, 1.98, 1.85, and 1.62, respectively. VTSL standardized for vital capacity (VTSL/VC) followed the same pattern. Asbestosis was diagnosed in 25 men, in whom VE 1.0 was significantly higher (p < .02) and VTSL lower (p < .01) than in the 0/0 group. V02SL was similar in both groups. The findings suggest that VE 1.0 and VTSL may be early functional indicators of asbestos‐related interstitial lung fibrosis. The measurement of both exercise indices may increase the certainty of clinical diagnosis of asbestosis in subjects with less advanced disease.
Further follow‐up and adjustment for smoking in a study of lung cancer and acid mists
Authors: Steenland Kyle , Beaumont James 
Published: April 2007

AbstractFollow‐up of a cohort of 1,165 steelworkers exposed to acid mists has been extended from 1981 to early 1986 for most cohort members, and information on smoking has also been collected. We obtained an SMR for lung cancer (unadjusted for smoking) of 1.56 (95% CI 1.12–2.11,41 observed). For those with 20 years or more since first exposure, the SMR was 1.72 (1.21–2.39). However, no trend was found with duration of exposure. To adjust for smoking, we used an indirect adjustment as suggested by Axelson to account for the fact that the exposed cohort smoked slightly more than the U.S. referent population. The SMR for the whole cohort dropped to 1.36 (0.97–1.84), while for those with more than 20 years since first exposure, the SMR was 1.50 (1.05–2.07). These results indicate that an excess risk for lung cancer persists after control for confounding by smoking.
Benzene in the blood and breath of normal people and occupationally exposed workers
Authors: Brugnone F. , Perbellini L. , Faccini G. B. , Pasini F. , Danzi B. , Maranelli G. , Romeo L. , Gobbi M. , Zedde A. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractBenzene was measured in blood and alveolar air of 168 men, aged 20–58 years, subdivided into four groups: blood donors, hospital staff, chemical workers occupationally exposed to benzene, and chemical workers not occupationally exposed to benzene. The group of exposed workers was employed in work places with a mean environmental exposure to benzene of 1.62 mg/M3 (8 hr TWA). Non‐exposed workers were employed elsewhere in the same plant, with an environmental exposure to benzene lower than 0.1 mg/M3. Blood and alveolar air samples were collected in the morning, before the start of the work shift for the chemical workers. The group of exposed workers was found to be significantly different from the other three groups, both for blood and alveolar benzene concentrations. The mean blood benzene concentration was 789 ng/1 in the exposed workers, 307 ng/1 in the non‐exposed workers, 332 ng/1 in the hospital staff, and 196 ng/1 in the blood donors. Apart from the exposed workers, blood benzene concentration was significantly higher in smokers than in non‐smokers. The mean alveolar benzene concentration was 92 ng/1 in the exposed workers, 42 ng/1 in the non‐exposed workers, 22 ng/1 in the hospital staff, and 11 ng/1 in the blood donors. Alveolar benzene concentration was significantly higher in smokers than in non‐smokers in the groups of the hospital staff and non‐exposed workers, but not in the blood donors and exposed workers. In the three groups without occupational exposure considered altogether, the alveolar benzene concentration correlated significantly with the environmental benzene concentration measured at the moment of the individual examinations, both in the smokers (r = .636; p < .001) and non‐smokers (r = .628; p < .001). In the same three groups and in the exposed workers, alveolar benzene concentration showed a significant correlation with the blood benzene concentration.
Occupational health in the negev: A model for regional planning
Authors: Blanc Paul D. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractIn the Negev region of Israel, I tested a model approach to occupational health planning. This model included components assessing exposures, measuring adverse health outcomes, and evaluating health services.I analyzed employment survey data, compiled an exposure data base, and carried out site visits covering 10,707 employees (over 50% of the regional industrial work force). Site visits identified exposure hazards of inorganic and organic dusts, heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, and noise. I identified elevated relative regional injury rates by Standard Morbidity Ratios (SMRs) in a variety of industries, including sixfold increases for mining and non‐metallic minerals manufacture (SMR 6.8, 99% CI6.1–7.7). Review of biological monitoring data suggested deficiencies in pesticide and heavy metals surveillance. A survey of primary care clinics estimated 13,707 cases of occupational injury and illness untreated by existing occupational medical services.Based on these findings, I formulated regional occupational health planning goals, including targeting high‐risk industries for increased preventive activities. This regional approach, combining multiple measures of occupational health status, can serve as a model for assessing local public health planning needs.
Occupational disease in new york state: A comprehensive examination
Authors: Markowitz Steven B. , Fischer Ellen , Fahs Marianne C. , Shapiro Judy , Landrigan Philip J. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractIn order to obtain information on the current magnitude of occupational disease in New York State, four data sources were reviewed: Workers' Compensation records, disease registries maintained by the state department of health, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and data from the California's physician reporting system. A proportionate attributable risk approach is used to develop estimates of mortality due to occupational diseases. The distribution of occupational hazards was assessed using data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC). Finally, econometric estimates of the direct and indirect costs of occupational illness were developed.The best available data indicate that 5,000 to 7,000 deaths are caused each year in New York State by work‐related illnesses, and at least 35,000 new cases of occupational illness develop each year in the State. It is also estimated that between 150,000 and 750,000 workers in New York State are employed in the 50 most hazardous industries. OSHA standards regulating exposure to selected chemicals were found to have been violated frequently. The annual costs of occupational disease in New York State are approximately 600,000,000; only a small fraction is covered by workers' compensation insurance. Of the 52,000 physicians in New York State, only 73 are board‐certified in occupational medicine. Most of these are involved in administrative, teaching, and research aspects of occupational medicine. Of the 300 industrial hygenists in New York State, two‐thirds are employed by major corporations.Recommendations are described to improve the recognition of occupational disease in New York State and to reduce the burden of this disease. A statewide network of occupational health clinical services is proposed and has been funded by the New York State Legislature. Other recommendations are also given.
Health costs of occupational disease in New York state
Authors: Fahs Marianne C. , Markowitz Steven B. , Fischer Ellen , Shapiro Judy , Landrigan Philip J. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractOccupational diseases and deaths are costly events. They are responsible for: 1) direct medical costs; 2) indirect costs, resulting from lost production, foregone opportunities, and diminished investment; and 3) non‐economic costs, including pain and suffering, disrupted careers, and devastated families. To develop a partial estimate of the total costs of occupational disease in New York State, we have examined four categories of illness: occupational cancer, chronic respiratory disease and the pneumoconioses, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease, and end‐stage renal failure. We base our partial estimate on the human capital approach to the costs of these illnesses. Using the best measures available, including both incidence and prevalence statistics, mortality records, and a variety of financial data, we employ two cost accounting techniques of the human capital approach, the incidence method, and the prevalence method. Our analysis shows that these four occupational illnesses are costing New York over 600 million per year. This figure is a pragmatic but conservative, lower‐bound estimate of the relative magnitude of total economic costs of occupational disease in New York State. The largest proportion of these costs (80%) is due to occupational cancer. The failure of the health care system to recognize the costs of occupational disease precludes recognition of the economic benefits which would result from preventing these illnesses. This study, it is hoped, will stimulate advances in epidemiological and economic approaches to resolve this important measurement problem.
Mortality of a cohort of men in a silicosis register: Further evidence of an association with lung cancer
Authors: Ng Tze Pin , Chan Shiu Lun , Lee James 
Published: April 2007

AbstractLung cancer mortality from 1980 to 1986 was studied in a cohort of 1,419 men in a silicosis register who had no previous exposure to asbestos and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. The 28 deaths from lung cancer were statistically in excess of expected (SMR 2.03; 95% CI 1.35–2.93). Excess risks of lung cancer were found in both underground workers (SMR 3.41; 95% CI 1.10–7.97; based on 5 deaths) and surface workers (SMR 1.87, 95% CI 1.18–2.81; based on 23 deaths). All lung cancer deaths were smokers. There was an increase in SMRs with longer latency periods and years of exposure, with the greatest risk found in those who had worked for 30 or more years after more than 30 years since first exposed (SMR 3.07, based on 16 deaths). The risk for lung cancer was higher in those with tuberculosis (SMR 2.52; 95% CI 1.52–3.94) and showed an increasing trend with severity of silicosis, from category 1 to 3 and from category A to C, with highest risk in those with tuberculosis and category 3 (SMR 4.44 based on 3 deaths) or tuberculosis and category C (SMR 7.63 based on 7 deaths). Most of the excess lung cancer risk in silicotics is due to smoking, but a synergistic effect between smoking and silica/silicosis on the risk of lung cancer is also likely. In particular, a possible role of silicosis and tuberculosis as the fibrotic seedbed for malignant growth in the lung is strongly supported.