Health Hazards Among Industrial Detergents Exposes

Abstract

Regular use of the cleaning products is essential to our well being. So, it's important to be sure that they are safe to our environment and our health. The present work had been conducted at the Nile company for oils and detergents, to assess the environmental concentrations of particulate and non-particulate matter, to study the major health problems among the exposed workers and to relate these problems to the levels of the emitted pollutants. The prospective controlled study included 85 subjects, 65 of them exposed to the dust of the final product at the packing and warehouse departments. Eighteen subjects were taken from the administration department and not exposed to that dust, as control. All individuals were subjected to: a questionnaire, clinical examination with special concern about eye, skin, respiratory tract manifestations, Laboratory investigations including blood picture and serum immunoglobulins and blood histamine. Temperature and level of air pollutants at the work place were measured. Eye, skin, respiratory tract manifestations of irritation were the commonest health problems among the exposed which showed no statistical difference in comparison with the control group. These manifestations decreased and disappeared by time due to the adaptation (hardening of the skin) and the hyposensitization phenomena. RBC's count was higher in exposed group mostly due to CO pollution. Immunoglobulins and histamine levels were statistically insignificant between both groups. • We concluded that age, smoking habit, duration of work were playing a very limited role in the prevelance of the clinical manifestations and on the blood picture estimated or the serologiccal investigations done. Serum immunoglobulins could not be helpful in the diagnosis or management of allergic diseases, especially the skin • diseases. The skin prick test was not reliable in case of detergents and • • soaps, the hazardous effect on workers exists mainly if the process of manufacture is not automated and the dust control at the working area is not maintained.