Workplace Safety in China Questioned as Problem with Lung Illnesses Raises Questions

New Human Health Study Casts Doubts on Safety of Nanoparticles

It’s almost like being cast into the “Twilight Zone” as a new study published recently in the European Respiratory Journal links, for the first time, possible exposure to nanoparticleswith ill health in humans. A study of toxicity from nanoparticles, a subject of increasing research, looked at a number of factory workers in China.

A study published in Nature Nanotechnology(5-20-08) showed nanoparticles known as “carbon nanotubes” caused mesotheliomain mice. The findings of this and other animal studies are significant because they highlight the possibility of nanoparticles causing cancer or other ill health effects in humans, although until the China study, no “human” studies showed similar results.

Seven healthy female factory workers (aged 18 to 47) all employed at the same unnamed print plant were in the China study. Over a period of 5 to 13 months, these workers were hospitalized with respiratory problems accompanied by skin irritation on the arms, hands, and face. Doctors found excessive fluid (pleural effusion) in the lungs. The women were diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (scarring of the lungs) causing impaired lung function. Two of the women died later of lung failure.

The study was led by scientist Yuguo Song, from the Department of Occupational Medicine and Clinical Toxicology at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital. According to Song the workers’ symptoms resulted from their exposure to nanoparticles in the adhesive paint used in the plant. Made from a plastic known as a “polyacrylate ester,” this white “paste material” was scooped into a machine and sprayed onto polystyrene boards. The boards were then heated to a temperature of 75°C to 100°C.

The women worked in an unventilated room with no windows and only one door. The door remained closed to keep the room warm. For several months all seven workers were exposed to fumes and dust without proper protective equipment. Only occasionally they would wear a cotton gauze mask. When interviewed the women mentioned they often saw flecks in the air.

Nanoparticles (30 nanometres in size) were identified by electron microscope in the paint, lung tissue and fluid found in the lungs. The researchers believe nanoparticles entered the body either through lung inhalation. absorption through the skin, or both. They contend it was the toxicity of the nanoparticles rather than the paint vapor that caused the illness experienced by the workers. (workersxzcompxzkit)

As evidence Song points out that within two years, two of the women died and the other five patients’ lung function continued to deteriorate. After the machine was shut down no further cases occurred.

Author Robert Elliott,executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs, including airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He can be contacted at: Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.

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