First-aid reports of acute chlorine gassing among pulpmill workers as predictors of lung health consequences.
Workers in pulpmills can be exposed to a multitude of gases hazardous to respiratory function, the most common of which is chlorine gas. First-aid reports of acute gas overexposure incidents ("gassings") over an 8 year period were used to generate exposure data on a group of pulpmill workers whose respiratory function had been studied cross-sectionally in 1981 and 1988. Three hundred forty-eight incidents representing 174 workers were identified, 78% of these being treated solely by the first-aid attendant with the administration of O2 and cough suppression medication. Among 316 workers tested during a 1988 respiratory health survey, 78 had at least one chlorine or chlorine dioxide "gassing" incident. There was a significant decrease in the FEV1/FVC ratio (p less than .05) as well as increased risk for workplace associated chest symptoms in this group with at least one "gassing" incident. In an age- and smoking-matched analysis, among workers tested both in 1981 and 1988, there was a greater decline in FEV2/FVC ratio and MMF (p less than .05) in the "gassed" group than in the nonexposed group over the 7 year period of observation. These results emphasize the need for worker protection against accidental chlorine gas exposures.
Salisbury
D A
DA
Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Enarson
D A
DA
Chan-Yeung
M
M
Kennedy
S M
SM
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001955:British Columbia; D002713:Chlorine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017606:Chlorine Compounds; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005392:First Aid; D005740:Gases / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D010087:Oxides / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010209:Paper; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D017606:Chlorine Compounds; D005740:Gases; D010087:Oxides; D002713:Chlorine; C025109:chlorine dioxide