Across-shift lung function variation in cottonseed oil workers.

BACKGROUND: The effects of cotton dust on pulmonary function among workers employed in cotton-spinning mills are well known. However, little data exist on the prevalence of this disorder in 'non-textile' cotton industries, including cottonseed oil mills, where high levels of exposure to dust have been demonstrated. AIMS: This study was performed in order to determine the across-shift and across-week decline of FEV(1) and respiratory symptoms among workers in a cottonseed oil mill. METHODS: Sixty-six exposed and 48 unexposed workers of a cottonseed oil mill in Turkey were investigated by questionnaire and lung function test (LFT). LFTs were performed before and after shift on all the working days of the week. Acute airway response was defined as an across-shift decline in FEV(1) of 5% or more on the first working day. RESULTS: Smoking was the only risk factor for having respiratory symptoms. Acute airway response was more frequently observed in the exposed group as compared to the unexposed group (OR = 6.2, 95% CI = 2.3-16.7). The median across-shift decline in FEV(1) on the first day (120 ml) significantly improved on the following days (10, 50, 60 and -30 ml). CONCLUSION: Smoking appears to be the main risk factor for having respiratory symptoms. Cottonseed dust may cause an acute pulmonary function decline on the first working day, but not on the following days of the week. This decline is associated with respiratory symptoms in exposed workers.

Knowledge, attitude and safe behaviour of nurses handling cytotoxic anticancer drugs in Ege University Hospital.

Many antineoplastic drugs are known to be carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic to humans. There is thus a potential risk due to occupational exposure to cytotoxic drugs (CDs). Nurses and pharmacists are the main groups that are exposed to these drugs in the ambulatory care and hospital settings. An analytic cross sectional study was here carried out in order to evaluate the level of knowledge of nurses on the health effects and the routes of exposure to CDs, to clarify the protective measures while handling these agents and to determine the influence of this knowledge on clinical attitudes, behaviour and actual usage of safety measures. The level of knowledge of the nurses concerning antineoplastics was not satisfactory. Findings for nurses' safety behaviour and usage of recommended health safety measures showed that, notwithstanding the rules and regulations pertaining to CDs, nurses did not comply with them fully. In service training is a very effective tool to increase the level of knowledge. This study also revealed the necessity for improvement of the working environment and the availability of appropriate protective equipment.