inhalational lung diseases are among the most important occupational diseases. pneumoconiosis refers to a group of lung diseases result from inhalation of usually inorganic dusts such as silicon dioxide, asbestos, coal, etc. , and their deposition in the lungs. the resultant pulmonary disorders depend on the susceptibility of lungs; size, concentration, solubility and fibrogenic properties of t...

The Rocky Flats Beryllium Health Surveillance Program (BHSP), initiated in June 1991, was designed to provide medical surveillance for current and former employees exposed to beryllium. The BHSP identifies individuals who have developed beryllium sensitivity using the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). A detailed medical evaluation to determine the prevalence of chronic beryllium ...

It has been demonstrated (1) that aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) reverses beryllium-induced inhibition of plasma alkaline phosphatase both in vitro and in vivo. It was suggested (2) that the ability of ATA to reverse the enzymatic and toxicological properties of Be++ involves chelate formation between Be++ and the ortho carboxyl, hydroxyl groups in the ATA molecule and the concomitant formation ...

UNLABELLED Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (HP) is an interstitial lung disease that occurs upon exposure to a variety of inhaled organic antigens. The presence of small non-caseating granulomas and isolated giant cells is not specific, but is considered a relevant histological feature for HP. The detection of granulomas is widely considered as easy on standard histological stains, but microgranul...

OBJECTIVES To describe relative hazards in sectors of the beryllium industry, risk factors of beryllium disease and sensitisation related to work process were sought in a beryllium manufacturing plant producing pure metal, oxide, alloys, and ceramics. METHODS All 646 active employees were interviewed; beryllium sensitisation was ascertained with the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation blood te...

OBJECTIVES Beryllium sensitisation (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) are caused by exposure to beryllium with susceptibility affected by at least one well-studied genetic host factor, a glutamic acid residue at position 69 (E69) of the HLA-DPβ chain (DPβE69). However, the nature of the relationship between exposure and carriage of the DPβE69 genotype has not been well studied. The goal ...

The purpose of this study was to determine how two types of sampling data could be used for an exposure assessment in a beryllium shop at the Department of Energy's Rocky Flats Plant. Beryllium exposure was assessed via fixed airhead (FAH) sampling, in which the filter cassette was affixed to the machine, generally within a few feet of the worker's breathing zone. Approximately 500,000 FAH samp...