Trethowan W N, Burge P S, Rossiter C E, Harrington J M, Calvert I A
Occupational Health Unit, Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Occup Environ Med. 1995 Feb;52(2):97-104. doi: 10.1136/oem.52.2.97.
To study the relation between occupational exposure to ceramic fibres during manufacture and respiratory health.
The respiratory health of 628 current employees in the manufacture of ceramic fibres in seven European plants in three countries was studied with a respiratory questionnaire, lung function tests, and chest radiography. Simultaneous plant hygiene surveys measured subjects' current exposure to airborne ceramic fibres from personal samples with optical microscopy fibre counts. The measured exposures were combined with occupational histories to derive estimates of each subject's cumulative exposure to respirable fibres. Symptoms were related to current and cumulative exposure to ceramic fibres and lung function and findings from chest radiographs were related to cumulative exposure.
The mean duration of employment was 10.2 years and mean (range) cumulative exposure was 3.84 (0-22.94) (f.ml-1.y). Eye and skin symptoms were frequent in all plants and increased significantly, as did breathlessness and wheeze, with increasing current exposure. Dry cough and stuffy nose were less common in the least exposed group but did not increase with increasing exposure. After adjustment for the effects of age, sex, height, smoking, and past occupational exposures to respiratory hazards, there was a significant decrease in both forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced midexpiratory flow related to cumulative exposure in current smokers (P < 0.05) and in FEV1 in ex-smokers (P < 0.05). Small opacities were found in 13% of the chest radiographs; their prevalence was not related to cumulative exposure to ceramic fibres.
It is concluded that exposure to ceramic fibres is associated with irritant symptoms similar to those seen in other exposures to man made mineral fibres (MMMFs) and that cumulative exposure to respirable ceramic fibres may cause airways obstruction by promoting the effects of cigarette smoke.
研究陶瓷纤维制造过程中的职业暴露与呼吸健康之间的关系。
采用呼吸问卷、肺功能测试和胸部X光检查，对三个国家七家欧洲工厂中628名陶瓷纤维制造行业在职员工的呼吸健康状况进行了研究。同时进行的工厂卫生调查通过光学显微镜纤维计数，从个人样本中测量了受试者当前空气中陶瓷纤维的暴露量。将测量的暴露量与职业史相结合，得出每个受试者可吸入纤维累积暴露量的估计值。症状与陶瓷纤维的当前和累积暴露相关，肺功能以及胸部X光检查结果与累积暴露相关。
平均就业年限为10.2年，平均（范围）累积暴露量为3.84（0 - 22.94）（f.ml-1.y）。所有工厂中眼部和皮肤症状都很常见，随着当前暴露量增加，呼吸急促和喘息也显著增加。干咳和鼻塞在暴露最少的组中较少见，但不随暴露增加而增多。在调整了年龄、性别、身高、吸烟以及过去职业性呼吸危害暴露的影响后，当前吸烟者一秒用力呼气量（FEV1）和用力中期呼气流量与累积暴露显著降低（P < 0.05），前吸烟者的FEV1也显著降低（P < 0.05）。胸部X光检查发现13%的人有小阴影；其患病率与陶瓷纤维的累积暴露无关。
得出的结论是，接触陶瓷纤维会引发与其他接触人造矿物纤维（MMMFs）类似的刺激性症状，并且可吸入陶瓷纤维的累积暴露可能通过促进香烟烟雾的影响导致气道阻塞。
