ABSTRACT
Workers exposed to dust have to undergo medical check-ups every 2 years including lung function testing. Here we report on the routine lung function data (FVC, FEV1, MEF50) of 994 workers from Austria. Lung function data were compared to the Austrian standard values that are based on routine testing of healthy volunteers. For all parameters the workers' values were significantly poorer than the Austrian standards (FVC: -0.4 l; FEV1: -0.5 l; MEF50: -0.9 l/s). The difference from the standard increased with increasing duration of the dust exposure. This increase was significant for the total group for MEF50 even after controlling for smoking. About half of the workers were exposed to quartz dust and had poorer lung function values (p = 0.02 for MEF50) than the other workers. Smoking significantly reduced all 3 lung function parameters with a significant interaction between strong smoking (compared to non-smokers) and quartz exposure (compared to all other exposures). Current Austrian limit values are not protective against chronic damage of the respiratory system. The combined impact of cigarette smoke and high concentration of mineral dust (quartz) is especially dangerous.
