ARE YOU EXPOSED TO ASTHMA TRIGGERS AT HOME AND AT WORK?

ARE YOU EXPOSED TO ASTHMA TRIGGERS AT HOME AND AT WORK?

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Every day in America, 30,000 people suffer an asthma attack. Five thousand of them go to the emergency room, 1,000 are admitted to the hospital—and 11 will die. Although those numbers include asthma sufferers of all ages—children are especially susceptible to asthma-causing chemicals—a significant number are workers. As many as 15 percent of adults develop asthma because of workplace exposures, according to the American Thoracic Society. Many more who develop asthma outside the workplace find their condition worsened by workplace exposures.

We recently informed you about the off-gassing of coatings in the composites we bring in our homes and we manufacture at work.

EMERGING RISKS: VOC OFF-GASSING OF COMPOSITE PRODUCTS (SUCH AS WIND TURBINES); INHALATION OF STYRENE VAPORS DURING THE MANUFACTURE OF WIND TURBINE BLADES

http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2014/11/emerging-risks-voc-off-gassing-of.html

Occupational asthma is one of those furtive industrial hazards, sneaking up on its victims unawares while they go about their jobs. Induced by exposure to chemicals that irritate the airways, OA can be a debilitating condition that lays workers low for extended periods of time.

One common agent of OA is toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) which is used extensively to produce polyurethane foams, coatings, adhesives and sealants. Unfortunately, if workers are regularly exposed to TDI over a period of months or years, they become sensitized to it and develop immunologically mediated OA. This is triggered by further exposure by skin contact or inhalation, even by very low levels of the chemical.

It is not only industrial workers who are at risk. Consumers using products containing TDI, like sprays and coatings, can be exposed via skin contact or inhalation as well as members of the general public who are in the vicinity of buildings where it is being used. This shortened exposure can lead to irritant-induced OA.

Part of the problem stems from simply being indoors. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that indoor environments may have pollutant levels two to five times higher, and occasionally more than 100 times higher, than outdoor levels—and Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, breathing these concentrated pollutants.

Employers should be concerned not only with preventing workers from developing occupational asthma, but also with controlling workplace air quality so it does not exacerbate asthma in workers with a preexisting asthma diagnosis.

Asthmagens in the workplace and at home

In 2012, the National Institutes of Health prepared a report on substances that cause or aggravate asthma in the built environment. They identified 374 such substances, some commonly found in buildings where the enclosed environment concentrates them.

· Indoor substances, objects, and systems linked to asthma include:

· Building materials, such as paints, insulation, and plastics, as well as textiles like carpets and curtains;

· Furnishings, especially plastics, or furnishings with plastic or resin coatings;

· Cleaning products, especially those with disinfectant properties;

· Personal care and hobby products ranging from perfumes to glues; and

· Central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices, which are prone to biological contamination (bacteria, viruses, and molds).

The more insulated our homes are, the more concentrated these contaminants become in the air we breathe. As we reported few days ago, the asthma incidents in the United States have doubled since 1980. This is a reason for concern for all of us, especially the infants and children. Recently, the State of California recommended that some of the isocyanates be considered air pollutants because they especially affect the infants and children. See here.

GREEN INDUSTRY HAZARDS: INSULATION OR SEALING OF HOMES AND BUSINESSES USING SPRAY POLYURETHANE FOAM (SPF)/ISOCYANATES

http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2014/10/green-industry-hazards-insulation-or.html

Naturally, workers who manufacture these products can be exposed to high levels of asthmagens during the manufacturing process. What employers may not realize, though, is that workers in environments where these products are used are also at risk because these chemicals continue to be released from the products at the point of final use.

High-Risk Workplaces

Certain employees are more frequently exposed to asthmagens at work, either during the manufacture of products or during their final use, including workers in:

· Agriculture. Agricultural workers encounter many biological asthmagens, including insect proteins, pollens, organophosphate insecticides, chloramides, sulfones, and mites.

· Adhesives manufacturing. Workers producing adhesives encounter acid anhydrides, aliphatic amines, polycyclic compounds, diisocyanates, methyl methacrylate, and cyanoacrylates.

· Plastics manufacturing. Aliphatic amines, polycyclic compounds, acid anhydrides, diazonium salts, formaldehyde, methyl methacrylate, diisocyanates, trypsin, bromelin, polyvinyl chloride, azodicarbonamide, styrene, polypropylene, and dioctyle phthalate are common asthmagens encountered in plastics manufacturing.

· Health care. Glutaraldehyde, latex, formaldehyde, methyl methacrylate, cyanoacrylates, quaternary ammonium compounds, methyldopa, penicillins, psyllium, hexachlorophene, and chlorhexidine threaten the respiratory systems of healthcare workers.

Irritants in high doses that induce occupational asthma include hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide or ammonia, which is found in the petroleum or chemical industries. If you are exposed to any of these substances at high concentrations, you may begin wheezing and experiencing other asthma symptoms immediately after exposure. Workers who already have asthma or some other respiratory disorder may also experience an increase in their symptoms during exposure to these irritants.

Allergies play a role in many cases of occupational asthma. This type of asthma generally develops only after months or years of exposure to a work-related substance. Your body's immune system needs time to develop allergic antibodies or other immune responses to a particular substance.

For example, workers in the washing powder industry may develop an allergy to the enzymes of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis, while bakers may develop an allergy and occupational asthma symptoms from exposure to various flours or baking enzymes.

Veterinarians, fishermen and animal handlers in laboratories can develop allergic reactions to animal proteins. Healthcare workers can develop asthma from breathing in powdered proteins from latex gloves or from mixing powdered medications.

Occupational asthma can also occur in workers after repeated exposure to small chemical molecules in the air, such as with paint hardeners or in the plastic and resin industries.

The length of time you are exposed to a substance before it triggers your asthma varies. It can be months or years before symptoms occur. On the other hand, exposure to a high concentration of irritants can cause asthma within 24 hours.

Finally, inhaling some substances in aerosol form can directly lead to the buildup of naturally occurring chemicals in your body, such as histamine or acetylcholine within your lungs, which leads to asthma. For example, insecticides, used in agricultural work, can cause a buildup of acetylcholine, which causes your airway muscles to contract and tighten.

Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting & Forensics (MECF)

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