Pulmonary Function Testing
Spirometry, or pulmonary function testing (PFT), involves measuring the
breathing capacity of the lungs. It is particularly useful in determining the
presence or absence of obstructive lung disease among exposed workers.
Decreased lung function has occurred in flavoring exposed workers before the
onset of symptoms of bronchiolitis obliterans. For that reason, diminished
breathing capacity, particularly among younger workers in the plant population,
should serve as a signal to further investigate potential problems associated
with exposure to volatile butter flavorings in the work environment.
Since decreased PFT serves as an important identifying factor of the presence of
the disease, it is recommended that all newly hired employees be asked to
complete a health questionnaire. It should focus on respiratory symptoms or
airway obstruction and serve as baseline information for subsequent annual
evaluation. You may choose to develop one locally or use the model questionnaire
found at the end of this document. This questionnaire was the one employed by
NIOSH in its Missouri study.
Baseline PFT should be provided for all new workers before starting work. New
workers who have pre-existing lung diseases or abnormal spirometry on
pre-placement testing should be evaluated by a physician to determine the risk
of exacerbating their lung disease from volatile flavorings or their
ingredients.
It is recommended that PFT be repeated on an annual basis, at least, for all
exposed workers. Tests should include the ratio of the 1-second forced
expiratory volume (FEV1) to the forced vital capacity (FVC). Workers should be
encouraged to report respiratory symptoms or symptoms of eye, nose, throat, or
skin irritation.
Eye and Skin Protection
NIOSH is aware of eye injuries occurring in at least three microwave popcorn
packaging plants, which are believed to be due to employee exposure to flavoring
vapors. These volatile organic compounds may affect the eyes and skin due to
their irritant properties. They also report several instances of workers
experiencing severe skin rashes, in some cases including sloughing of the skin,
which may be associated with flavoring vapors or handling of liquid flavorings.
It is recommended that employers provide chemical goggles for exposed employees
to protect against potential splash and/or vapor exposure. Goggles are available
that fit over corrective lenses if necessary.
It is also recommended that employees making process additions, or otherwise
handling liquid, paste, or powdered flavoring ingredients where direct skin
contact is possible, be provided with appropriate chemical resistant gloves.
Since butter flavorings vary among manufacturers, communication with both your
flavoring manufacturer and glove vendor will be necessary to ensure that
appropriate glove materials are selected.
Respiratory Protection
Respiratory protection in the Mixing Room should be mandatory regardless of the
amount of time employees spend in the room. At a minimum, it is recommended that
employees working in the Mixing Room be provided with and required to wear half
mask air-purifying respirators. Respirators should be equipped with NIOSH-approved
P-100 filters and cartridges for protection against organic vapors.
Half mask air-purifying respirator Powered
air-purifying respirator
|
You may consider additional worker protection for the eyes with the use of a
full face-piece respirator. Other options for respirators that workers may find
easier to wear in hot mixing rooms include powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR)
or supplied air respirators.
Respirators should only be used as part of a formal written respiratory
protection program detailed in the OSHA respirator standard at 29 CFR
1910.134.This includes a medical evaluation to determine an employee’s
physiological and psychological ability to use a respirator, fit testing of the
respirator, required training of employees wearing respirators, and appropriate
administration of the program.
Engineering and Administrative Controls
The basic principles for controlling the occupational environment consist of
substitution of less hazardous materials; isolation of the hazard; and the use
of local and general exhaust ventilation to remove contaminants from the
workroom. Experience has shown that occupational hazards can be controlled by
the use of one or more of these principles. Consult with your plant engineer or
refer to Industrial Ventilation – Manual of Recommended
Practice (see “References” section of this document) for ventilation
design examples and options.
While their applicability will depend upon variables in the manufacturing
processes among various employers, some preventative engineering and work
practice measures which have been shown to help reduce employee exposure levels
to flavoring ingredients include:
Ventilation on finished oil tanks in mixing room |
- Reducing the operating temperature of the holding and mixing tanks to that
necessary to prevent solidification of the flavoring mixture for your process
(generally less than 120°F). This will aid in reducing the volatilization of
components of the butter flavoring and their release into the workroom air.
- Equipping the head space of the and holding tanks where flavorings are
added to oil or held in pure form with local exhaust ventilation directed out
of the plant. Local environmental regulations should be considered if this is
done without a scrubber.
- Isolating the mixing room from the rest of the plant through the use of
walls, doors or other barriers.
-
Covered ventilated flavor tank |
Providing the mixing room with a separate ventilation system; or ensuring
that a negative pressure (relative to atmospheric pressure) is maintained in
the mixing room to avoid the outward migration of contaminated air to adjacent
areas of the plant.
- Automation of the mixing process.
- Covering the flavoring and finished oil tanks and ventilating the
headspace to reduce emissions into the room.
- Eliminating spillage from overfilling tanks, leaks in seals and fittings,
and manual transfer of materials, all of which have been identified as sources
of emissions.
- Reducing dust exposure during bag dumping by installing commercially
available bag dumping stations equipped with local exhaust ventilation
(three-sided canopy hood) and bag disposal.
- Putting lids on transfer buckets to avoid residual vapor release and/or
placing buckets in a ventilated area following transfer; or pumping flavoring
from smaller to larger tanks to avoid manual transfer altogether.
Flavor tank ventilation |
- Adding flavorings at room temperature.
- If a flavoring must be heated prior to adding it to the flavoring tank or
mixing tank, transfer the flavoring to the tank via a pumping system rather
than manual transfer.
- The application of axial flow dilution ventilation wall fans (require an
adequate supply of tempered makeup air in cold months).
Environmental Monitoring
Diacetyl, a ketone with butter flavor characteristics, has been shown to be the
predominant volatile organic compound (VOC) present in these work environments.
It is suggested that it may be the cause, or a marker for a cause, of
respiratory disease in this workforce.
For that reason, it is recommended that full-shift industrial hygiene sampling
be employed to measure its presence in the work environment. This should include
both personal and area samples. Such sampling is useful in determining initial
concentrations and locations of diacetyl and other VOCs in the work area. It
also serves to determine the success of the application of engineering and
administrative controls in reducing the levels of diacetyl, as well as total
VOCs, in the workplace.
Sampling pump and sampling tube |
While it is recommended that all areas of the plant be
sampled initially to determine exposure levels, it is of particular importance
to assure that the following plant areas are sampled:
- The mixing room
- Plant areas where flavoring tanks are located
- The production lines
- The quality assurance laboratory
Since the composition of butter flavorings varies among
manufacturers, it is recommended that you consult with your flavoring
manufacturer when conducting environmental monitoring.
The following OSHA sampling and analytical method (or subsequent revision) is
recommended:
General Description
- Name:
Diacetyl
- Synonyms:
Biacetyl; 2,3-Butandione; 2,3Diketobutane;
Dimethyldiketone
- Chemical Abstracts Service #:
431-03-8
- Description:
Colorless liquid
- Molecular weight: 86
- Vapor pressure: 178 mm
- Molecular formula: C4H602
- Boiling point: 88°C
- Melting point: -2°C
- Incompatibilities:
Strong oxidizers; bases; reducing agents; metals
|
Monitoring
Primary Sampling/Analytical Method (SLC1)
- Media:
Two Silica Gel tubes in series (150/75mg)
- Analytical solvent:
95:5 Ethanol:Water
- Maximum volume:
3 Liters
- Maximum Flow:
0.05 L/min
- Anl 1 (current OSHA analytical method):
Gas chromatography with flame ionization
detector; GC/FID
- Reference:
1 (OSHA PV2118)
- Class:
Partially Validated
- Conditions:
60-m DBWax (0.32 mm ID; 0.5 μm film thickness)
|
NOTE: Samples must be refrigerated immediately after
sampling and shipped to the laboratory as soon as possible.
Resources
Assistance in performing environmental monitoring and with control measures may
be obtained from your plant engineer, insurance carrier, private consultants, or
the following:
- OSHA-funded state consultation programs
(no cost to you)
Iowa Workforce Development Department
Division of Labor Services
1000 East Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281-6308
Kansas Department of Human Resources
Division of Workers Compensation
Industrial Safety and Health Section
512 West Sixth Street
Topeka, KS 66602-3150
(785) 296-7476
Missouri Division of Labor Standards
P.O. Box 449
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-3403
Nebraska Department of Labor
Division of Safety Consultation
301 Centennial Mall South, Lower Level
P.O. Box 95024
Lincoln, NE 68509-50248
(402) 471-4717
- State Health Departments
Iowa Department of Public Health
Division of Health Protection & Environmental Health
Lucas State Office Building
321 East Twelfth Street
Des Moines, IA 50319-0075
(515) 281-8707
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention
1000 SW Jackson Street
Topeka, KS 66612
(785) 296-1127
Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services
P.O. Box 570
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-9071
Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services
Regulation and Licensure
301 Centennial Mall South
Lincoln, NE 68509
(402) 471-0550
-
OSHA
United States Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
1100 Main Street, Suite 800
Kansas City, MO 64105
(816) 426-5861
-
NIOSH
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health
Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Safety & Health
Respiratory Disease
Hazard Evaluation & Technical Assistance Program
Field Studies Branch
Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
1095 Willowdale Road
Morgantown, WV 26505-2888
(304) 285-5749
References:
- ACGIH. Industrial Ventilation – A Manual of
Recommended Practice, 24th ed. Cincinnati, Ohio, American
Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. 2001.
ACGIH
1330 Kemper Meadow Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45240
(513) 742-2020
- NIOSH. NIOSH Investigation of Gilster Mary Lee, HETA#2000-0401,
Technical Assistance to Missouri Department of Health, Interim Report, August
22, 2001. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, 2001.
- CDC. Fixed Obstructive Lung Disease in Workers at a
Microwave Popcorn Factory – Missouri, 2000 – 2002. U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report(MMWR). 2002; 51(16):345-7.
- Kreiss, Kathleen, M.D., et.al., Clinical
Bronchiolitis Obliterans in Workers at a Microwave Popcorn Plant. New
England Journal of Medicine. 2002; 347:330-338.
Health Questionnaire* (Used by NIOSH in its Missouri study)
|
Health Condition |
Question |
| Chronic cough |
Do you usually cough
on most days for 3 consecutive months or more during the year? |
| Wheeze |
Have you ever had
wheezing or whistling when you did not have a cold? |
| Wheezing Attacks |
Have you ever had 2 or
more attacks of wheezing that havemade you feel short of breath? |
| Chest tightness |
During the last 12
months, have you woken up with a feelingof chest tightness? |
| Shortness of breath |
Are you troubled by
shortness of breath walking with peopleof your own age on level ground? |
| Trouble breathing |
- I have regular
trouble with my breathing but it always gets completely better.-My breathing is
never quite right. |
| Fever |
While working at the
plant have you had weekly or dailyfever? |
| Chills |
While working at the
plant have you had weekly or dailychills? Night-sweats While working at
the plant have you had weekly or daily night-sweats? |
| Flu-like achiness |
While working at the
plant have you had weekly or daily flu-like achiness? |
| Fatigue |
While working at the
plant have you had weekly or daily unusual tiredness or fatigue? |
| Mucous membrane |
Is there any exposure
in your work environment that you find irritating to your eyes, nose, or throat? |
| Asthma |
Have you ever had
asthma confirmed by a doctor? |
| Chronic bronchitis |
Have you ever had
chronic bronchitis confirmed by a doctor? |
| Emphysema |
Have you ever had
emphysema confirmed by a doctor? |
| Atopy (allergic) |
Have you ever had hay
fever or eczema confirmed by a doctor? |
| Attacks of bronchitis |
Since you began
working at the plant have you ever had attacks of bronchitis confirmed by a
doctor? |
| Pneumonia |
Since you began
working at the plant have you ever had pneumonia confirmed by a doctor? |
| Skin problems |
Since you began
working at the plant have you developed any new skin rash or skin problem? |
*This questionnaire should be
administered and interpreted only under the direction of a licensed physician
with specific knowledge of the workplace.
|
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