Respiratory Illness intheConstruction Industry* Obstruction AmongPainters

Toassess thepotential respiratory effects ofexposure to paint products, thepulmonary function of118construction painters wascompared toconstruction workers unexposed topaints (314 sheet metal workers). Whencompared tosheet metal workers, painters reported significant excess symptomsofcough (p<0.05), wheezing (p<0.001), anddyspnea (p<0.0001). Nonsmoking painters working atleast 15years inthetrade hadsignificant decrements inpercent predicted forced expiratory volume inonesecond (%FEV1) (p<0.025) andinthepercent predicted ratio oftheforced expiratory volume inonesecond totheforced vital capacity (%FVC1/ pulmonary hazards amongconstruction workers vary fromthewell-recognized effects ofasbestos andsilica tomorerecently-described illnesses from isocyanates' andepoxycompounds.2 Although indirectly exposed toasbestos, painters have muchlower exposure tothis agent thanother construction workers, suchasinsulation workers3 andpipefitters.4 In contrast, painters, particularly spray painters, have potentially highexposure toavariety ofchemical substances withpoorly characterized pulmonary toxicity. Painters areexposed tosolvent fumes andaerosols containing various concentrations ofpigments (chromates), binders (alkyl, epoxy andurethane resins), fillers (talc) andchemically reactive monomers (isocyanates). Specific components inpaint, suchas isocyanates anddimethyl ethanolamine, arecapable of inducing acute5 6andchronic' forms ofairflow obstruction. Although lacquer painters havedemonstrated excess respiratory symptoms7 andanuncontrolled study of1,000 painters foundsignificant airflow obstruction in26percent ofthenonsmokers,8 an excess ofrespiratory deaths wasnotobserved among paint fabricators.9 Ourstudy sought toexplore theproposed hypothesis that painters maybeatincreased risk ofdeveloping respiratory impairment. Westudied therespiratory