%0 Journal Article
%T Occupational Exposure to Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter and Lung Functions Deterioration of Steel Workers: An Exploratory Study in India
%A Lakhwinder Pal Singh
%A Arvind Bhardwaj
%A Kishore Kumar Deepak
%J ISRN Public Health
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/325410
%X Objective. Manufacturing industry, especially casting and forging (iron and steel) industry, comprises a major part of the occupation in India. However, health protection is still ignored. Therefore the present study explores the respiratory symptoms among steel workers and subsequently measured the level of exposure to RSPM and lung functions parameters using spirometry investigation. Method. Present study assessed the level of respiratory symptoms through questionnaire survey of 572 workers, out of which 309 workers and another control group of 74 subjects were assessed for the spirometry test. Both of the groups were statistically matched for age and BMI. Students¡¯ t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to compare the various subgroups. Results. The results reveal that workers are exposed to higher respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) levels than the limit of 5£¿mg/m3 prescribed by Indian factory act. The spirometric parameters such as FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio, FEF25¨C75, PEFR, PIFR, and FIVC were significantly lower in exposed group than in controls. In the present scenario the iron and steel SMEs of the region are very much lagging behind in implementing the occupational health and safety practices. Conclusions. The majority of the workers were not wearing proper PPEs like masks due to ergonomically bad design, and at the same time they were working 60 to 72£¿hrs/week, which leads to very high level of exposure to RSPM. Therefore, the workers were under higher risk of lungs functions deterioration. 1. Introduction A number of studies have been reported with respect to occupational dust exposure and respiratory health. Chen et al. [1] reported that the average respirable dust exposure was found to decrease the forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in smoking workers. Neaimi et al. [2] explored that a percentage of the exposed workers reported recurrent and prolonged cough, phlegm (25%), wheeze, and bronchitis, shortness of breath, bronchial asthma. Ventilatory function (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and PEF) was significantly lower in the exposed workers compared with unexposed workers. In another cross-sectional study, the quartz stone workers exposed to approximately 100% free silica were found to have deteriorated lung function which could be attributed mainly to respiratory disorders along with other epidemiological factors such as sex, age, duration of exposure, and smoking [3]. Koo et al. [4] reported that mean values for all ventilatory indices except FVC in foundry workers were significantly lower than
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.public.health/2013/325410/