AIRWAY HYPERSENSITIVITY RELATED TO INCORRECT POLISHING PROCEDURES

摘要

Six employees were referred with airway hypersensitivity after exposure to cleaning and polishing procedures in a small hospital. The symptoms emerged gradually after introduction of so-called dry cleaning methods in 1992 and were attributed to the use of an ultra-highspeed polishing machine. The effects were confirmed by questionnaires and objective examinations. The polishing machine was equipped with a vacuum cleaner without HEPA-filter. The total dust pollution was reduced by this vacuum cleaner but the employees experienced continued aggravation and developed work-related hypersensitivity of the airways. Our studies showed that exposure to irritants and possible chemical sensitising agents had been extremely high due to incorrect and excessive polishing activity. The vacuum cleaner contributed to the pollution by distributing high concentrations of respirable particles into the indoor air carrying irritant, corrosive and possibly sensitising emissions. These exposures constitutes biologically plausible explanations for the observed effects.