Are YOU EXPOSED to Asthma
Triggers at HOME AND AT Work?
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
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
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)
Providing Competent, Expert and Objective
Investigative Engineering and Consulting Services
P.O. Box 520
Tenafly, NJ 07670-0520
Tel.: (973) 897-8162
Fax: (973) 810-0440
E-mail: metroforensics@gmail.com
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