Obliterative bronchiolitis in fibreglass workers: A new occupational disease?
Journal
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Journal Volume
70
Journal Issue
5
Pages
357-359
Date Issued
2013
Author(s)
Cullinan P.
McGavin C.R.
Kreiss K.
Nicholson A.G.
Maher T.M.
Howell T.
Banks J.
Newman Taylor A.J.
Tsai P.-J.
Shih T.-S.
Burge P.S.
Abstract
Rationale and objectives: Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) is a rare disease with a small number of established occupational aetiologies. We describe a case series of severe OB in workers making glass-reinforced plastics. Methods: Workplace exposures were the likely cause after the independent diagnosis of OB in two workers laying up the fibreglass hulls of yachts; the second worker took over the job of the first after he left following a lung transplant. Presentation of these two cases at international meetings led to others identifying similar workers. Main results: We identified six workers with good evidence of OB. All were involved in preparing fibreglass with styrene resins, five as boat builders laying up fibreglass hulls and one during cooling-tower fabrication. The disease came on rapidly without unusual acute exposures. Two patients had lung transplants, while another died while waiting for one. Histology confirmed OB in the four with biopsies/post-mortem examinations or explanted lungs. Conclusions: A rare, potentially fatal disease occurring in six workers laying up fibreglass with styrene resins from five different worksites suggests that work exposures were the cause of their OB. The precise agent responsible awaits identification.
SDGs
Other Subjects
glass fiber; resin; styrene; adult; airway obstruction; article; autopsy; bronchiolitis obliterans; cause of death; clinical article; cooling tower; disease severity; glass industry; human; human tissue; industrial worker; lung transplantation; male; occupational exposure; occupational lung disease; open lung biopsy; priority journal; respiratory failure; workplace; Adult; Air Pollutants, Occupational; Autopsy; Bronchiolitis Obliterans; Construction Materials; Fatal Outcome; Glass; Humans; Inhalation Exposure; Lung; Lung Transplantation; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Exposure; Occupations; Plastics; Resins, Synthetic; Severity of Illness Index; Ships; Styrene
Type
journal article