Increase of Olfactory Threshold in Plating Factory Workers Exposed to Chromium in Korea.

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  • KITAMURA Fumihiko
    National Institute of Industrial Health
  • YOKOYAMA Kazuhito
    Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Mie University
  • ARAKI Shunichi
    National Institute of Industrial Health Department of Public Health and Occupational Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
  • NISHIKITANI Mariko
    Department of Public Health and Occupational Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
  • CHOI Jae-Wook
    Department of Preventive Medicine, Institute for Environmental Health, Medical College, Korea University
  • YUM Youg-Tae
    Department of Preventive Medicine, Institute for Environmental Health, Medical College, Korea University
  • PARK Hee-Chan
    Department of Preventive Medicine, Institute for Environmental Health, Medical College, Korea University
  • PARK Sang-Hwoi
    Department of Public Health and Occupational Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
  • SATO Hajime
    Department of Public Health and Occupational Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo

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Description

To disclose the effects of chromium (Cr) on olfactory function, olfactory threshold tests were conducted on 27 male plating workers (Cr workers) with signs and symptoms of olfactory irritation but without nasal septum perforation or ulcer and on 34 male control subjects in Korean plating factories. The Cr workers had been exposed to Cr fume for 0.9 to 18.2 (mean 7.9) years; their blood Cr concentrations (0.16-3.69, mean 1.29 μg/dl) were significantly higher than those of the 34 control subjects (0.04-1.95, mean 0.55 μg/dl). Scores on recognition thresholds among the Cr workers were significantly higher than those of the control subjects (p<0.05) and related positively and significantly to the exposure periods of the 27 Cr workers (p<0.05). Olfactory thresholds were not significantly different between the Cr workers with and without nasal signs or symptoms, except that the scores on the recognition threshold were significantly higher in those experiencing difficulty with smell (p<0.05). It is suggested that olfactory threshold is affected by Cr without development of nasal septum perforation or ulceration.

Journal

  • Industrial Health

    Industrial Health 41 (3), 279-285, 2003

    National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

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