Trout D, Esswein E J, Hales T, Brown K, Solomon G, Miller M
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, USA.
Am J Ind Med. 1996 Sep;30(3):343-50. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0274(199609)30:3<343::AID-AJIM13>3.0.CO;2-W.
Sodium azide is the principal gas-generating agent used to inflate automobile supplemental restraint systems, more commonly called airbags. Although sodium azide is known to affect the cardiovascular system by causing peripheral vasodilation, there is no published literature describing occupational exposures to sodium azide in the rapidly growing automobile airbag industry. In 1994-1995, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a cross-sectional study of health complaints reported by sodium azide production workers at the only continuous sodium azide production facility in the United States. The NIOSH evaluation consisted of a plant industrial hygiene survey, a symptom questionnaire, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and blood azide analysis. Personal breathing zone air monitoring revealed exposures to sodium azide and hydrazoic acid (a reactant product) at levels greater than the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limits (RELs). In some cases, exposures exceeded the REL despite the use of air-supplied respirators. The questionnaire revealed that most workers reported headache (10 of 11 [91%]), episodes of low blood pressure (9 of 11 [82%]), and palpitations (8 of 11 [73%]) occurring in the production areas within the 6 months preceding the study. Mild headache (4 of 11 [36%]) was the only symptom reported during our 24-hr medical survey. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring revealed one asymptomatic employee with a drop in blood pressure (defined as a drop in systolic [at least 20 mm Hg] and diastolic [at least 10 mm Hg] blood pressure) during a period of exposure to sodium azide at a level five times the NIOSH REL. Improvements in plant engineering controls, increased attention to employee hygiene practices, and a more comprehensive respiratory protection program were recommendations made by NIOSH to reduce exposures at the plant. All facilities handling sodium azide should be aware of the potential toxicity of sodium azide and hydrazoic acid.
叠氮化钠是用于给汽车辅助约束系统（更常见的叫法是安全气囊）充气的主要气体发生剂。尽管已知叠氮化钠会通过引起外周血管舒张来影响心血管系统，但在快速发展的汽车安全气囊行业中，尚无关于职业性接触叠氮化钠的公开文献。1994 - 1995年，美国国家职业安全与健康研究所（NIOSH）对美国唯一一家连续生产叠氮化钠的工厂中叠氮化钠生产工人报告的健康投诉进行了横断面研究。NIOSH的评估包括工厂工业卫生调查、症状问卷、动态血压监测和血液中叠氮化物分析。个人呼吸区空气监测显示，接触叠氮化钠和氢叠氮酸（一种反应产物）的水平高于NIOSH推荐暴露限值（RELs）。在某些情况下，尽管使用了供气式呼吸器，接触水平仍超过了REL。问卷显示，大多数工人报告在研究前6个月内，生产区域出现头痛（11人中有10人[91%]）、低血压发作（11人中有9人[82%]）和心悸（11人中有8人[73%]）。在我们24小时的医学调查中，只有轻度头痛（11人中有4人[36%]）被报告。动态血压监测显示，一名无症状员工在接触叠氮化钠水平为NIOSH REL五倍的期间，血压下降（定义为收缩压[至少下降20 mmHg]和舒张压[至少下降10 mmHg]）。NIOSH建议改进工厂工程控制措施、加强对员工卫生习惯的关注以及实施更全面的呼吸防护计划，以减少工厂内的接触。所有处理叠氮化钠的设施都应意识到叠氮化钠和氢叠氮酸的潜在毒性。
