Prevention of Work-related Asthma: Study Search Results

Study Details
Prevention LevelPrimary
AuthorPeters
Study Year2001
CountryUSA
Molecular Weight of AgentHMW
CategoryBiological enzyme
AgentDetergent enzyme (high PH protease, low PH protease, amylase, lipase)
OccupationDetergent industry workers (Includes cohort reported by Peters, 1997)
Outcome/DiagnosisEnzyme sensitization
Activity InterventionIntroduction of new assessment tools in 1997 to better evaluate enzyme exposure controls (increased worker involvement in detecting, ranking, and controlling sources of dust release and product spillage), use of skin prick test to evaluate effectiveness of hygiene program
Participation RateLimitation: no report of participation rate
Intervention EffectivenessNumber of sensitizations decreased from 232 in 1996, 194 in 1997, to 108 in 1998. From 1992-1997, there were 25 incidents where sensitization rates were above 3%, for which poor compliance with operation exposure guidelines was cited. Most exceedances of 3% sensitization rate involved Lipase. Air sampling is of limited value, but semi-quantitative tools for monitoring compliance, and detecting and ranking peak sources were more effective.
Page last reviewed: May 25, 2022