A cross-sectional study of early effects on the lung in workers exposed to indium, a suspected strong inducer of pneumoritis

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

To clarify the effects of indium (In) on the respiratory system, a cross-sectional study was performed in 2 indium-tin oxide ceramics target (ITO target) manufacturing plants and 2 indium recycling plants in December 2003 and February 2004. The study subjects were 112 male indium-exposed workers (In workers, mean exposure duration : 70.3 mos), 40 male former exposed workers (ex-In workers, mean exposure duration : 71.7 mos, mean duration after indium exposure : 74.1 mos), and 104 male referent workers. Nine female In workers, 2 female former In workers, and 25 female referent workers were also surveyed.Geometric means of serum In concentration (In-S) in In workers, ex-In workers and referent workers were 6.87, 2.96 and 0.52 μg/L, respectively. Prevalence of "cough other than winter" in smokers and "cough in winter" and "phlegm in winter" in non-smokers were significantly higher in In workers than in referent workers. Indices of spirometry didn't show any differences. Prevalence of inte … More rstitial changes in 6 lung fields examined by high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) was ca. 23% in ex-In workers, but no statistical difference was seen between In workers and referent workers. Dose-response relationship between In-S and the prevalence of the interstitial changes was unclear. Serum KL-6, SP-D and SP-A increased dose-dependently and very sharp dose-effect and dose-response relationships were revealed between In-S and KL-6. Some ex-In workers showed high In-S and KL-6 even 150 months after finishing their In exposure job.In conclusion, it became clear that In had a strong potential to induce lung interstitial changes and KL-6 in serum was the most appropriate indicator of the interstitial changes. Furthermore, the effects of In seem to persist for a long time even after finishing the exposure.According to these study results, health risks due to In exposure were communicated to the managers of the plants and individual workers in 2004. Health risk management for control the workplace environment and protecting the health effects on the lung were also recommend. Less