Relationships between Exposure Levels of Respirable Dusts, Chest Radiation Findings and Pulmonary Function Tests among Workers in Cloth Manufacturing Industry

Objective: This study was conducted to prepare fundamental data and assess the relationship between level of exposure to airborne respirable dust, chest radiation findings, and the results of pulmonary function tests among workers in a cloth manufacturing factory. Methods: The number of total subjects was 144 (124 female and 20 male) workers in a cloth manufacturing factory in the city of Busan. This study measured the concentration of airborne respirable dust by gravimetric analysis and performed pulmonary function testing, and got chest radiation findings from December 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. Collected data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS statistical package program (ver. 24.0). Results: The mean concentration of respirable dust was the highest in the cutting process. The effecting factors on $FEV_1/FVC$ were age, sex, and working process. The effecting factors on chest radiation findings were doing no exercise and concentration of respirable dust. Conclusions: Based on the above results, the authors consider there to be a need to secure sufficient working space and improve the engineering systems, for example the overall or local ventilation, in order to minimize the exposure to respirable dust. Health education and health promotion activities should also be improved in order to maintain optimal health status. The authors expect further studies to be performed on pulmonary function testing, chest radiation findings, and symptoms related to pulmonary function, including continuous observation, among workers in a cloth manufacturing factory.

의복 제조 봉제업 근로자의 호흡성분진 노출수준과 흉부방사선 소견 및 폐 기능과의 관련성