Greaves I A, Wegman D H, Smith T J, Spiegelman D L
J Occup Med. 1984 Feb;26(2):81-5.
Fumes from solder flux have been shown to cause asthma among solderers in a British electronics factory. In the present study, questionnaires and lung spirometry were administered to 104 U.S. electronics workers (93 women, 11 men) who soldered printed circuit boards. Two types of solder flux were used: 68 subjects had worked only with a rosin-core (colophony) solder; 36 had changed from rosin- to an aqua-core ("phosphorous hexate") solder 15 months before the study. Symptoms of eye, throat, and nose irritation occurred in nearly half of the total group. Lower respiratory tract symptoms, including cough, phlegm production, and wheezing, also occurred with increased frequency, compared with reported rates among a general population. Similar symptom rates were observed among the aqua- and rosin-core groups. That these symptoms were work related was indicated by the subject's improvement on weekends or during vacation periods. On average, lung spirometry performed before starting work on Monday mornings showed no impairment in lung function; over the course of the work day there were small decrements in the forced expiratory volume at 1 s (mean, -21 +/- 11 [SD] ml) and forced vital capacity (-30 +/- 145 ml), but these decrements were unrelated to the individual amounts of solder used during the same period. Among the white female workers (N = 83), several multivariate analyses indicated that an increase in the amount of soldering had a beneficial effect on lung function, particularly among those who currently smoked. This paradox probably resulted from a "healthy worker effect" resulting from some individuals with lower than average lung function who left the industry early in the course of their employment.
在一家英国电子工厂中，已证实焊剂烟雾会导致焊接工人患上哮喘。在本研究中，对104名美国电子工人（93名女性，11名男性）进行了问卷调查和肺功能测定，这些工人负责焊接印刷电路板。使用了两种类型的焊剂：68名受试者仅使用过松香芯（树脂）焊剂；36名受试者在研究前15个月已从松香芯焊剂换成了水基芯（“六磷酸酯”）焊剂。几乎一半的受试者出现了眼睛、喉咙和鼻子刺激症状。与普通人群报告的发病率相比，包括咳嗽、咳痰和喘息在内的下呼吸道症状出现的频率也有所增加。水基芯组和松香芯组的症状发生率相似。受试者在周末或假期期间症状有所改善，这表明这些症状与工作有关。平均而言，周一早上开始工作前进行的肺功能测定显示肺功能没有受损；在工作日期间，1秒用力呼气量（平均为-21±11[标准差]毫升）和用力肺活量（-30±145毫升）有小幅下降，但这些下降与同期个人使用的焊料量无关。在白人女性工人（N=83）中，多项多变量分析表明，焊接量的增加对肺功能有有益影响，尤其是在目前吸烟的人群中。这种矛盾可能是由于“健康工人效应”导致的，一些肺功能低于平均水平的人在就业过程中早早离开了该行业。
