Rippen H E, Lamm S H, Nicoll P G, Cummings L, Howearth G, Thayer D
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1996;68(6):459-68. doi: 10.1007/BF00377870.
The development of an occupational health system for a plant manufacturing sodium azide has had to confront biological and hygienic difficulties related to the nature of sodium azide. Sodium azide in pellet form is used as the nitrogen generant for automobile air bags; however, it is manufactured as a very fine powder making exposure control more difficult. Sodium azide is a rapidly active, vasodilatory hypotensive agent that causes headaches and drops in blood pressure. Occupational health assessment of the plant and its employees demonstrated the need for exposure control, based on inspection, interviews, health data, process and site review. Targeted studies demonstrated the nature and magnitude of health effect problems at this plant and the relationship to azide exposure. Engineering and hygiene changes were developed in response to the evidence of worker exposure demonstrated by the targeted studies. The occupational health surveillance system provided a monitor for temporal changes. Results appear to demonstrate over the period of the development of the program, the following changes: (1) reductions in evidence of subjective symptoms from azide exposure (health incident reports of headaches and other symptoms), (2) reductions in objective signs of effects from azide exposure (drops in cross-shift mean arterial blood pressures), and (3) reductions in measured levels of azide exposure. Future studies need to validate the evidence of exposure changes and to further identify additional sources of exposure. Interventions designed to reduce exposures need to be demonstrated to be effective and need to be monitored to demonstrate continuing effectiveness.
为一家生产叠氮化钠的工厂建立职业健康系统，必须应对与叠氮化钠性质相关的生物和卫生难题。颗粒状的叠氮化钠用作汽车安全气囊的产气剂；然而，它是以极细的粉末形式生产的，这使得暴露控制更加困难。叠氮化钠是一种作用迅速的血管舒张性降压剂，会导致头痛和血压下降。基于检查、访谈、健康数据、工艺和现场审查，对该工厂及其员工的职业健康评估表明需要进行暴露控制。针对性研究揭示了该工厂健康影响问题的性质和严重程度以及与叠氮化钠暴露的关系。针对针对性研究表明的工人暴露证据，制定了工程和卫生方面的改进措施。职业健康监测系统提供了对时间变化的监测。结果似乎表明，在该计划制定期间有以下变化：（1）叠氮化钠暴露引起的主观症状证据减少（头痛和其他症状的健康事件报告），（2）叠氮化钠暴露的客观影响迹象减少（跨班次平均动脉血压下降），以及（3）叠氮化钠暴露测量水平降低。未来的研究需要验证暴露变化的证据，并进一步确定其他暴露源。旨在减少暴露的干预措施需要证明是有效的，并且需要进行监测以证明持续有效。
