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According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Youth Department of Labor, an estimated 11 million workers in a wide range of industries and occupations are potentially exposed to at least one of the deleterious agents known to be associated with the development of occupational asthma. Occupational factors have been associated with up to 15% of the disabling asthma cases in the United States, including 558,000 workers exposed to grain dust, 1.4 million healthcare workers potentially exposed to latex products, and others (Occupational Safety and Health Administration 05/17/00).
Asthma can typically be characterized by intermittent breathing difficulties; however, in many of the workers, asthma is not recognized due to its very atypical presentation, such as an unexplained cough, unexplained chest tightness, and unexplained shortness of breath. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Youth Department of Labor, asthma is a frequently serious and sometime fatal condition.
Workers may be unaware of the possible relationship between their symptoms and their work. Commonly workers do not associate their symptoms of cough, chest tightness, irritation of the skin, or shortness of breath with their industrial exposures. Commonly According to the various agencies specializing in asthma, employers often have inadequate surveillance procedures to measure the frequency of occupational asthma.
Workers are exposed to a wide variety of airborne contaminants on the job, such as dust, welding fumes, gases, sandblasting dust, solvent vapors and mists. Inhaling dirty workroom air can irritate the respiratory system and cause sneezing, cough, chest tightness or difficulty in breathing. Prolonged exposure over months or years can lead to chronic long-term lung disease with a chronic disability such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, and emphysema.
How Long Does Asthma Take to Develop?
There is no fixed period of time in which asthma can develop. Asthma is a disease which may develop from a few hours, days, weeks to many years after initial exposure (the argument that the patient cannot have contracted the asthma at work, because he was diagnosed as having asthma only "5 years after his exposures took place" is refuted scientifically). Studies carried out on platinum refinery workers show that in most cases asthma develops in 6-12 months, but may occur within 10 days or be delayed as long as 25 years. (For reference Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety 05/17/00. As a matter of fact, the most common form of occupational asthma is occupational asthma with latency. The latency period may vary from weeks to years. (For reference Western Australian Asthma Organization 05/17/00). For more details visit www.environmentaldiseases.com.
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