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  • Two-year follow-up of exposure, engineering controls, respiratory protection and respiratory health among workers at an indium-tin oxide (ITO) production and reclamation facility

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Exposure assessment
Original research
Two-year follow-up of exposure, engineering controls, respiratory protection and respiratory health among workers at an indium-tin oxide (ITO) production and reclamation facility
  1. R Reid Harvey1,
  2. M Abbas Virji1,
  3. Brie H Blackley1,
  4. Marcia L Stanton1,
  5. Bruce C Trapnell2,
  6. Brenna Carey2,
  7. Terrance Healey3,
  8. Kristin J Cummings1
  1. 1 Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
  2. 2 Translational Pulmonary Science Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
  3. 3 Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr R Reid Harvey, Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; iez1{at}cdc.gov

Abstract

Objectives To determine whether engineering controls and respiratory protection had measurable short-term impact on indium exposure and respiratory health among current indium-tin oxide production and reclamation facility workers.

Methods We documented engineering controls implemented following our 2012 evaluation and recorded respirator use in 2012 and 2014. We measured respirable indium (Inresp) and plasma indium (InP) in 2012 and 2014, and calculated change in Inresp (∆Inresp) and InP (∆InP) by the 13 departments. We assessed symptoms, lung function, serum biomarkers of interstitial lung disease (Krebs von den Lungen (KL)-6 and surfactant protein (SP)-D) and chest high-resolution CT at both time points and evaluated workers who participated in both 2012 and 2014 for changes in health outcomes (new, worsened or improved).

Results Engineering controls included installation of local exhaust ventilation in both grinding departments (Rotary and Planar) and isolation of the Reclaim department. Respiratory protection increased in most (77%) departments. ∆InP and ∆Inresp often changed in parallel by department. Among 62 workers participating in both 2012 and 2014, 18 (29%) had new or worsening chest symptoms and 2 (3%) had functional decline in lung function or radiographic progression, but average KL-6 and SP-D concentrations decreased, and no cases of clinical indium lung disease were recognised.

Conclusions Increased engineering controls and respiratory protection can lead to decreased Inresp, InP and biomarkers of interstitial lung disease among workers in 2 years. Ongoing medical monitoring of indium-exposed workers to confirm the longer-term effectiveness of preventive measures is warranted.

  • respiratory
  • occupational health
  • metals

Data availability statement

No data are available. Due to restrictions imposed under the US Privacy Act and the limitations of what participants consented to, the data underlying the analyses presented, beyond what is provided in the paper, are confidential and not available to researchers outside the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). For more information about NIOSH’s policy regarding sensitive data, see https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/datahandle.html.

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107897

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    Data availability statement

    No data are available. Due to restrictions imposed under the US Privacy Act and the limitations of what participants consented to, the data underlying the analyses presented, beyond what is provided in the paper, are confidential and not available to researchers outside the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). For more information about NIOSH’s policy regarding sensitive data, see https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/datahandle.html.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors All authors made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the paper; or the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data for the paper. All authors drafted the paper or revised it critically for important intellectual content. All authors provided final approval of the version to be published. RH is the guarantor.

    • Funding This work was supported by intramural National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Award/grant number not applicable.

    • Disclaimer The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.