Kent M S, Robins T G, Madl A K
Brush Wellman Inc., Elmore, Ohio, USA.
Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2001 May;16(5):539-58. doi: 10.1080/104732201750169633.
Cases of chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and beryllium (Be) sensitization continue to be identified among Be industry workers. The currently accepted method for measuring exposure, which involves measuring the total mass of airborne Be per cubic meter, shows an inconsistent dose-response relationship with the prevalence of CBD. This study was conducted to evaluate which Be aerosol characteristics other than total mass may be more informative in understanding the dose-response relationship between exposure to Be and disease. Personal (n = 53) and general (n = 55) area airborne Be samples were collected in five furnace areas at a Be manufacturing facility where prevalence rates of CBD and Be sensitization had been previously studied among 535 employees with significant Be exposure. In the five furnace areas, particle-size specific personal samples and area samples were collected using an Andersen impactor and a microorifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI), respectively. The calculated concentrations were expressed in terms of total mass per cubic meter, and in forms of mass, number, and surface area of particles less than 10 microm or less than 3.5 microm mass median aerodynamic diameter per cubic meter that are predicted to deposit in the alveolar region of the lung. Tests for linear trend of the relationships of the various exposure metrics to prevalence of CBD and sensitization demonstrated highly significant associations between mass concentration (MOUDI) of particles less than 10 microm, and less than 3.5 microm, predicted to deposit in the alveolar region of the lung and CBD (p = 0.0004 and 0.000003, respectively) and sensitization (p = 0.025 and 0.003, respectively). However, no statistically significant association was found between these two exposure metrics and personal (Andersen) samples. The number and surface area concentration (MOUDI) of alveolar-deposited particles (less than 10 microm) also showed significant relationships with CBD (p = 0.03 and 0.03, respectively). No other exposure parameters showed significant relationships with CBD or Be sensitization. These results suggest that the concentration of alveolar-deposited particles less than 10 microm or, more particularly, the concentration of alveolar-deposited particles less than 3.5 microm may be a more relevant exposure metric for predicting the incidence of CBD or sensitization than the total mass concentration of airborne Be.
铍行业工人中仍不断发现慢性铍病（CBD）和铍致敏病例。目前公认的测量暴露量的方法是测量每立方米空气中铍的总质量，该方法显示出与CBD患病率的剂量反应关系并不一致。本研究旨在评估除总质量外，哪些铍气溶胶特性在理解铍暴露与疾病之间的剂量反应关系方面可能更具信息量。在一家铍制造工厂的五个熔炉区域收集了个人（n = 53）和一般区域（n = 55）的空气中铍样本，此前已对该工厂535名有显著铍暴露的员工进行了CBD和铍致敏患病率研究。在这五个熔炉区域，分别使用安德森撞击器和微孔均匀沉积撞击器（MOUDI）收集了特定粒径的个人样本和区域样本。计算出的浓度以每立方米总质量表示，以及以每立方米小于10微米或小于3.5微米质量中值空气动力学直径的颗粒的质量、数量和表面积形式表示，这些颗粒预计会沉积在肺部的肺泡区域。对各种暴露指标与CBD和致敏患病率之间关系的线性趋势测试表明，预计沉积在肺部肺泡区域的小于10微米和小于3.5微米颗粒的质量浓度（MOUDI）与CBD（分别为p = 0.0004和0.000003）和致敏（分别为p = 0.025和0.003）之间存在高度显著的关联。然而，在这两个暴露指标与个人（安德森）样本之间未发现统计学上的显著关联。肺泡沉积颗粒（小于10微米）的数量和表面积浓度（MOUDI）也与CBD显示出显著关系（分别为p = 0.03和0.03）。没有其他暴露参数与CBD或铍致敏显示出显著关系。这些结果表明，小于10微米的肺泡沉积颗粒浓度，或者更具体地说，小于3.5微米的肺泡沉积颗粒浓度，可能是比空气中铍的总质量浓度更能预测CBD或致敏发生率的相关暴露指标。
