If Work Makes You Wheeze...You Could Have Asthma

Each year, some 11 million workers are exposed to chemical agents that can lead to asthma.

Some of the common symptoms of asthma are: breathing difficulties, chest tightness, wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. Because asthma can cause lifelong disability and even death, you must take steps to eliminate these exposures.

What you can do to limit your exposure
If you have an asthma attack, make sure that it is properly recorded in the OSHA 200 log. Many of your co-workers may be having similar problems, and the union needs to track cases and get the company to eliminate these exposures.

Make sure your doctor knows that you work with specific chemicals. The longer your exposure continues, the more likely the asthma will become chronic and irreversible.

All ventilation systems should be properly maintained. Review your company’s respiratory protection program. If you have asthma, it is inappropriate for the company to offer you a filter-type, air-purifying respirator. These types of respirators cause more loading on the lungs. A supplied-air respirator or air-powered respirator is the only respirator that is allowable.

Changing laws to protect workers
Changing laws to lower the allowable exposure limits that people face daily can lessen the risks of asthma.

Better enforcement and strengthening of laws that protect workers during leaks and spills also create a safer work environment. There should also be provisions for medical surveillance in the health standards so that people who become asthmatic get help early in their exposure.

Here are some major causes
More than 250 agents are known to cause occupational asthma.

Isocyanates are chemicals found in foam, thermoplastics, glues and paints. If you see the initials MDI, TDI, HDI on material safety data sheets, you may be exposed to isocyanates. Workers who become sensitized to these chemicals may have asthma attacks when exposed to levels far below the OSHA permissible exposure limit. And it is not just the raw chemical that is a hazard. If you burn foam or sand paint, you may be exposed to asthma-causing isocyanates. A single large exposure to mist or vapor can also lead to permanent asthma. Repeated skin contact also can lead to asthma.

Formaldehyde may be released from paint ovens, glues, plastics and biocides used in water-based cooling systems. Formaldehyde is sometimes found in the office environment released from glues, floor coverings, and fiber boards.

Chemicals in plastics. Many thermoplastics, common in auto industry plants, emit formaldehyde and acrolein when they begin to decompose. Other common compounds like acrylates (like those found in superglue), epoxy resins and phthalic anhydride cause asthma as well.

Chemicals in health care industry. Some 1.4 million health care workers are exposed to latex products which can cause asthma. Disinfectants and cleaning products may contain gluteraldehyde, another danger.

Metals such as cobalt, chromium, vanadium or nickel used by platers and casters are asthma-causing agents. Welding fumes are also a frequent cause of asthma.

Metal working fluids are leading asthma-causing agents. The UAW petitioned OSHA in 1993 for a permissible exposure limit for metal working fluids that is 10 times lower than currently allowed.

Accidental releases. Workers who are exposed to a single high dose of a chemical can suffer a permanent asthma condition called reactive airway dysfunction syndrome. A single breath of spilled anhydrous ammonia or chlorine can cause the lungs to be permanently sensitized. From then on, a small dose of a lung irritant or even cold air can trigger a dangerous asthma attack.

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