title: Evaluation of the health effects of occupational exposure of analytic laboratory workers processing illicit drug investigation files.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Analytic Laboratory of Israel Police processes illicit drug files. In recent years, workers of this laboratory have complained of health problems. Limited information exists on the effect of occupational exposure to illicit drugs; biomonitoring was never done.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess health effects and systemic absorption of illicit drugs in workers of the Analytic Laboratory occupationally exposed to illicit drugs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective cohort study using health and occupational questionnaires, clinical assessments, and monitoring of urinary excretion of illicit drugs was conducted. The study included three blocks of one week each. At each week workers were assessed at the beginning (baseline), and the assessments were repeated at the end of the three working days. Urine specimens were analyzed for illicit drugs in an independent laboratory. Demographic, clinical, occupational, and laboratory data were subjected to descriptive analysis, and paired Student's t-test, chi-square analysis, and repeated measures model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-seven workers (age, 39.2 ± 8.3 years; 77.8% females) were included, yielding 122 paired samples. The following parameters were reduced at the end of shift compared with baseline: diastolic blood pressure (71.2 ± 11.2 and 77.2 ± 13.6 mmHg, respectively, p < 0.0001), FEV₁ (98.3 ± 14.6% and 100.7 ± 12.7%, respectively, p < 0.0001), FVC (101.4 ± 13.7% and 103.7 ± 14.0%, respectively, p = 0.003), and FEF₂₅₋₇₅ (85.7 ± 18.0% and 89.6 ± 18.7%, respectively, p = 0.01). Main health complaints included headache, fatigue, and dry eyes. No illicit drug was detected in the urine specimens.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is suggested that the health concerns of the laboratory workers were not related to the absorption of illicit drugs; environmental conditions (e.g. inadequate ventilation and respirable dust) can contribute to these concerns.
authors.affiliation: Israel Poison Information Center, Rambam Health Care Campus, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. d_bentur@rambam.health.gov.il
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bentur
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bentur
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rotenberg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tepperberg
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leiba
authors.forename: E Udi
authors.initials: EU
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D006261:Headache / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000652:urine; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D059232:Laboratory Personnel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000652:urine; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016495:Police; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs