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Comparison of work‐related symptoms and visual contrast sensitivity between employees at a severely water‐damaged school and a school without significant water damage
Author(s) -
Thomas Gregory,
Burton Nancy Clark,
Mueller Charles,
Page Elena,
Vesper Stephen
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22059
Subject(s) - medicine , environmental health , occupational safety and health , occupational exposure , occupational medicine , health hazard , toxicology , pathology , biology
Background The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a health hazard evaluation (HHE) of a water‐damaged school in New Orleans (NO), Louisiana. Our aim in this evaluation was to document employee health effects related to exposure to the water‐damaged school, and to determine if VCS testing could serve as a biomarker of effect for occupants who experienced adverse health effects in a water‐damaged building. Methods NIOSH physicians and staff administered a work history and medical questionnaire, conducted visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) testing, and collected sticky‐tape, air, and dust samples at the school. Counting, culturing, and/or a DNA‐based technology, called mold‐specific quantitative PCR (MSQPCR), were also used to quantify the molds. A similar health and environmental evaluation was performed at a comparable school in Cincinnati, Ohio which was not water‐damaged. Results Extensive mold contamination was documented in the water‐damaged school and employees (n = 95) had higher prevalences of work‐related rashes and nasal, lower respiratory, and constitutional symptoms than those at the comparison school (n = 110). VCS values across all spatial frequencies were lower among employees at the water‐damaged school. Conclusions Employees exposed to an extensively water‐damaged environment reported adverse health effects, including rashes and nasal, lower respiratory, and constitutional symptoms. VCS values were lower in the employees at the water‐damaged school, but we do not recommend using it in evaluation of people exposed to mold. Am. J. Ind. Med. 55:844–854, 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.