A Study of Environmental Hormone Characterisitics on Toxicity from Wooddust

목재분진의 독성에 의한 환경홀몬특성 연구

This study was performed to evaluate tannin exposure by wooddusts for workers in furniture factories and to investigate the relationship between tannin exposure and sino-nasal cancer risk. In order to explore possible cytological changes leading to nasal cancer, we have examined 50 male furniture workers and 50 matched controls using brush cytology. The results we have obtained in this study were as follows: 1. The tannin contents of woods used in woodworking factories have been measured and varied from 0.43 to 8.72 mg tannic acid equivalent per gram wood, for reconstituted softwood and turpentine (Syncarpia glomuliferia) respectively. 2. Airborne tannins in wooddusts were also determined by area and personal exposure. The values of mean exposures for both methods are ranged from 3.1 to $5.0{\mu}g/m^3$ and from 4.6 to $14.5{\mu}g/m^3$ in furniture manufactures. 3. Over nasal cytology scores 2, the scores of study group were slightly more than control group and this kind of metaplasias seemed to be occurred over $2mg/m^3$ wooddust and $6{\mu}g/m^3$ tannin exposure. Keratinising squamous metaplasia was investigated at nasal cytology score 3 and $10{\mu}g/m^3$ tannin exposure. The nasal cytology score 4 was seemed to be atypical squamous metaplasia. 4. To find out contributing factors to nasal cytology change, odds ratio that is one of fundmental biostatistics was applied. Actually the relationship between wooddust, tannin concentration and metaplasia were not meaningful, but the relationship between working experence more than 15 years and metaplasia was calculated as 1.83. This reveals that significant clinical abnormalities could be influenced from the years of woodworking experiences. However further research is required to evaluate the significance of the data, for the purposes of sino-nasal risk assessment, standard setting to prevent nasal cancer occurrences and possibility of changing workplace.