Decreased lung function among employees at Norwegian smelters.

BACKGROUND

In the smelting industry airborne pollutants are emitted into the workplace atmosphere during the production process. Our aim in this study was to investigate the relationship between production and lung function among employees at Norwegian smelters.

METHODS

Spirometry was performed on 3,924 employees, who also completed a standardized questionnaire. The employees were classified by job functions: (i) line operators were employed full-time on the production line, (ii) non-exposed employees did not work in production, and (iii) the remainder of the employees were classified as non-line operators.

RESULTS

The mean age of the participants was 38.6 (range 20.0-55.0) years, 88.5% were males. The multivariate analyses showed that, compared to the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)) in non-exposed employees, the FEV(1) (95% confidence interval) was 87 (33-141) ml and 65 (12-118) ml lower in line and non-line operators, respectively. The prevalence of airflow limitation (FEV(1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) below the 5th percentile of the predicted value) was 4.7% in non-exposed employees, 7.5% in non-line operators and 8.3% in line operators.

CONCLUSION

Compared with non-exposed employees, impairment of lung function among employees at Norwegian smelters was significantly related to the job categories of line operator and non-line operator.