230412 Meta-analysis of spray paint exposure in auto body shops and occupational asthma

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Nicolas Applyrs, BS , School of Public Health, FIU Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Miami, FL
Clement Giraneza, BS , School of Public Health, FIU Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Miami, FL
Michael A. Melchior, MPH, PhD(c) , Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, FIU Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Miami, FL
Janvier Gasana, MD PhD , Environmental & Occupational Health, FIU Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Miami, FL
Background The National institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimated that at least 50,000 to 100,000 workers in the United States are exposed to harmful respiratory agents annually. Chemicals like isocyanates, which are one of the most recognized causing agents of occupational asthma, are present in spray paints used by auto body shop workers. Objectives 1) Identify the correlation between auto body shop spray paint and asthma; 2) Describe the harmful effects of chemicals like isocyanates present in auto body shop spray paint; and 3) Explain the preventive measures to lower exposure to harmful contents of auto body shop spray paint. Methods Team searched Pubmed and Hotwire with the terms “occupational”, “asthma”, and “spray paint” from 1960 to 2009. Results Through this review, it was discovered that routine monitoring of auto body shop workers' exposure to harmful contents of spray paint is only done in a few US states. Routine monitoring by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Oregon between 1980 and 1990 showed that 2/3 of the sample exceeded recommended exposure levels. It was also found that ventilation requirements were not met in 1/3 of the same facilities. Approximately 20% of the sample reported occupational asthma symptoms. Conclusion This information gathered should be used to plan better primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention measures to lower occupational exposure to spray paint. Future research should be done to find less harmful alternatives present in widely used spray paints today.

Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciences
Epidemiology
Occupational health and safety
Public health biology
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1) Identify the risk factors of occupational asthma in the auto body shops due to exposure to spray paint 2) Describe the preventive measures of occupational asthma in the auto body shops

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am working on my MPH degree.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.