The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the prevalence and determinants of respiratory symptoms and lung function and their association with occupational dust exposure in Taiwanese steelworkers. The study was conducted on an integrated-steel company in Taiwan from March 1989 to February 1990. After excluding workers in the coke ovens and ex-smokers, we performed physical ...

OBJECTIVE To use various exposure-response models to estimate the risk of mortality from lung cancer due to occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust. METHODS Data from a cohort mortality study of 2342 white male California diatomaceous earth mining and processing workers exposed to crystalline silica dust (mainly cristobalite) were reanalyzed with Poisson regression and Cox...

A survey of size-fractionated dust exposure was carried out in 10 wood processing plants across the United States as part of a 5-year longitudinal respiratory health study. The facilities included a sawmill, plywood assembly plants, secondary wood milling operations, and factories producing finished wood products such as wood furniture and cabinets. Size-fractionated dust exposures were determi...

BACKGROUND Few studies in South Africa have investigated the exposure of asthmatic learners to indoor and outdoor air pollution at schools. This study compared outdoor PM10 and SO2 exposure levels in exposed (1-2 km from gold mine dumps) and unexposed schools (5 km or more from gold mine dumps). It also examined exposure of asthmatic children to indoor respirable dust at exposed and unexposed s...

Sanding joint compounds is a dusty activity and exposures are not well characterized. Until the mid 1970s, asbestos-containing joint compounds were used by some people such that sanding could emit dust and asbestos fibers. We estimated the distribution of 8-h TWA concentrations and cumulative exposures to respirable dusts and chrysotile asbestos fibers for four worker groups: (1) drywall specia...

welders may suffer from welding fumes generated during the process if the ventilation systems are improperly applied. the objective of the present work was to study the mitigation of air pollutants at welding stations, using different ventilation scenarios. four air pollutants including iron oxide, respirable dust, ozone, and carbon monoxide were measured during four different ventilation scena...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether grain handlers underwent work-related changes in their pulmonary function and, if so, to examine the dose-effect relationships with dust exposure. The pulmonary function of grain handlers was measured at the beginning and end of work shifts over a period of one week, during which their exposure to dust was measured daily. The results showed cha...

BACKGROUND Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) among underground miners exposed to silica remains a global problem. Although well described in gold and coal mining, risk in other mining entities are not as well documented. This study aims to determine dust-related dose response risk for PTB among underground miners exposed to silica dust in Zambia's copper mines. METHODS A cross sectional study of i...

The aim of the study was to determine occupational exposure in Croatian wood processing industry and forest workers to harmful effects of wood dust on the risk of nose, nasal cavity and lung carcinoma. Mass concentrations of respirable particles and total wood dust were measured at two wood processing plants, three woodwork shops, and one lumbering site, where 225 total wood dust samples and 22...