McCawley M A, Kent M S, Berakis M T
Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2001 May;16(5):631-8. doi: 10.1080/10473220120812.
Beryllium is a lightweight metal which causes a chronic granulomatous lung disease among workers who become sensitized to it. Recent research has shown a persistence of the disease despite efforts at control with mean exposures below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) occupational exposure limit of 2 microg/m3. Results of our current research confirm a previous finding in certain plants that particle number concentrations are higher in areas where historical estimate of risk showed a high risk of disease despite relatively lower mass concentrations. By providing side-by-side measurements of both particle number and mass, this research adds support to the proposal that particle number rather than particle mass may be more reflective of target organ dose and subsequently a more appropriate measure of exposure for chronic beryllium disease. Our evidence also shows that particle mass exposure measurements and particle number exposure measurements were not correlated.
铍是一种轻金属，会在对其敏感的工人中引发慢性肉芽肿性肺病。最近的研究表明，尽管采取了控制措施，使平均接触水平低于美国职业安全与健康管理局（OSHA）规定的2微克/立方米的职业接触限值，但该疾病仍持续存在。我们当前研究的结果证实了之前在某些工厂中的一项发现，即在风险历史估计显示疾病风险较高的区域，尽管质量浓度相对较低，但颗粒数浓度更高。通过同时测量颗粒数和质量，本研究支持了以下提议：颗粒数而非颗粒质量可能更能反映靶器官剂量，因此是慢性铍病更合适的接触量度。我们的证据还表明，颗粒质量接触测量与颗粒数接触测量不相关。
