A field investigation of the acute respiratory effects of metal working fluids. I. Effects of aerosol exposures

Abstract

A study of cross‐shift change in pulmonary function was conducted among workers exposed to metal working fluids (MWF) in an automobile parts manufacturing company. Three hundred eighty‐six workers (216 machinists exposed to straight or soluble MWFs, and 170 nonmachinists) were studied for 1 day, performing spirometry at the beginning and end of their shift. Airborne concentrations of inhalable particulate, culturable bacteria, and endotoxin were measured. We observed an approximately threefold increase in the incidence of 5% or greater cross‐shift decrement in forced expiratory volume during the first second among those with exposures above about 0.15 mg/m3, compared to those with exposures below about 0.08 mg/m3. There was some evidence that chronic respiratory symptoms were more prevalent among machinists than among nonmachinists, notably for chronic cough. Baseline FEV1 was about 3% lower on average among those with soluble MWF exposure compared to nonmachinists. These findings are consistent with earlier studies showing respiratory effects of MWFs. Am. J. Ind. Med. 31:756–766, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Respiratory symptoms and conditions related to occupational exposures in machine shops

“…Sprince et al (15) also measured aerosol concentrations using the same type of method in an automobile transmission plant and found the geometric mean of total aerosol to be 0.33 (range 0.04-1.44) mg/m 3 . The mean total aerosol mass quantified with gravimetric analysis was generally <0.5 mg/m 3 in the North American studies (17,31,32). This comparison with recent literature on exposures suggests that the occupational exposures in the Finnish machine shops were compatible with or lower than those in North America.…”

“…The same group also found an increased risk of cough, phlegm, and wheeze in relation to current exposure to any metalworking fluid among 1042 machinists and 769 assembly workers from three automobile facilities in the United States (14). Two other cross-sectional studies from the United States (15,17) found increased risks of respiratory symptoms, including throat irritation, cough, phlegm, and chest tightness, among machinists. Thus their results are compatible with those of our study.…”

“…This comparison with recent literature on exposures suggests that the occupational exposures in the Finnish machine shops were compatible with or lower than those in North America. The effect of the type of metalworking fluid has been evaluated in some studies, but the results have been inconsistent (14,15,17,26).…”

“…Previous studies focusing on specific workplaces, mainly in the automobile industry, have linked exposure to metalworking fluids with respiratory symptoms, lung function changes, and occupational asthma, bronchitis or allergic alveolitis (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). Most of these studies were conducted in North America.…”

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Specific for (1→6) Branched, (1→3)-β- d -Glucan Detection in Environmental Samples

“…Exposure to metal working fluids can cause respiratory illnesses (12,13). Endotoxins and fungi are often present in the air of workplaces using water-based metal working fluids and implicated as causal factors in work-related respiratory illnesses (13,14).…”