Pulmonary function of control and industrially exposed Nigerians in asbestos, textile, and toluene diisocyanate-foam factories

Abstract

The pulmonary function of 120 non-industrially exposed Nigerians and of workers in an asbestos-cement factory, a cotton textile factory, and a TDI-foam factory was investigated. The pulmonary function of the control subjects was significantly ( P < 0.001) higher than that of any of the control subgroups. The total particulate levels in the factories corresponded to the level of dust-generating activity. The highest suspended particulate level in the asbestos-cement factory was 18.3 mg·m −3 while the highest level in the textile factory war 14.94 mg·m −3. The highest total respirable fiber content in the asbestos-cement factory was 6.63 f·cm −3 and this occurred in the cement and asbestos mixing section. It seemed that the greatest risk to pulmonary function for the exposed subjects resulted from exposure to cotton dust, however, a probable acute exposure to toluene diisocyanate among a subgroup that had an exposure duration of about a year produced the highest depression of lung function observed among the exposed subjects. It seems that the pulmonary function of the Nigerian “normal” population has not changed in a decade, after an apparent increase in industrialization. The pulmonary function equations developed in this study showed good predictability and the FEV 1 and FVC values calculated from these equations closely matched those calculated from equations developed for other African subjects.