Respiratory morbidity in workers exposed to dust containing phenolic resin

Summary

Seventy-three men and women exposed to phenolic resin dust and/or processed cotton dust in a factory producing sound-deadening material were studied cross-sectionally. There was a statistically significant acute drop in FEV₁ and FVC over the shift in garnett-line workers exposed to dust containing phenolic resin. Pickers, exposed to processed cotton dust only, did not show a significant drop in FEV₁ and FVC over the work shift. Thirty-five percent of the workers that had smoked cigarettes and had worked in the plant 5 years or more had an FEV₁ less than 80% of predicted. This finding was not entirely explained by duration of cigarette smoking. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the longer the duration of exposure, the lower the ratio of FEV₁ to FVC. Respiratory symptoms were related to current cigarette smoking but not to duration of employment. The study suggests that exposure to dust containing phenolic resin had both acute and chronic effects on pulmonary function.