title: [Health survey of plant workers for an occupational exposure to ammonium perchlorate].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand the occupational hazards of ammonium perchlorate dust on operating workers and to provide the basis preventive measures for protecting the workers' health.
  
  
  METHODS
  36 workers exposed to ammonium perchlorate dust and 48 unexposed workers from one factory were selected as the exposure and control groups. Investigations on the general condition, sampling of dust in the workplaces and a special medical examination were conducted for two groups, including occupational history, clinical manifestations, blood routine test, hepatic and renal functions, indexes of thyroid hormone, spirometric test and chest X-ray.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total dust concentration of AP in the batch plant reached to 51.63 ± 43.27 mg/m(3), exceeding the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permission exposure limits. The systolic blood pressure in the exposure group was higher than that of the control group (146.14 ± 21.03 VS 134.67 ± 18.58), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The detection rates of the cumulative total symptoms, short of breath and skin itch symptoms in the exposure group were significantly higher than those in the control group (86.11% VS 66.67%; 30.56% VS 12.50%) (P < 0.05), respectively. FT(3) level in the exposure group significantly lowered than the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01); The pulmonary function result showed that FEV1/FVC% in the exposure group was lower than that in the control group (106.50 ± 28.99 VS 111.70 ± 19.72), but the difference was not significant. X-ray examination revealed one case of pulmonary X-ray abnormalities in the exposure group, diagnosis of pneumoconiosis, and one case with about 1.0 × 1.0 small nodules detected on the left of lung door area in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The systolic blood pressure of workers in the exposure group was significantly higher, which could not exclude related to the exposure to AP dust; The T(3) levels in the exposure workers were lower than those in the control group, which may due to AP exposure, suggesting that long-term chronic exposure to AP dust may affect thyroid function.
authors: Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors: Hong-xia
authors: HX
authors: Chen
authors: Yuan-peng
authors: YP
authors: Shao
authors: Feng-hong
authors: FH
authors: Wu
authors: Yang-ping
authors: YP
authors: Li
authors: Kai-liang
authors: KL
authors: Peng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D001794:Blood Pressure; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004391:Dust; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009098:Multiphasic Screening; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010472:Perchlorates / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D004391:Dust; D010472:Perchlorates; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; C053506:ammonium perchlorate