Open AccessAcute Liver Dysfunction among Workers Exposed to 2,2‐Dichloro‐1,1,1‐trifluoroethane (HCFC‐123): A Case Report
Author(s) -
Takebayashi Toru,
Kabe Isamu,
Endo Yu'ichi,
Tanaka Shigeru,
Miyauchi Hiroyuki,
Nozi Kazuko,
Takahashi Ken,
Omae Kazuyuki
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of occupational health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1348-9585
DOI - 10.1539/joh.40.169
Subject(s) - preventive healthcare , public health , medicine , family medicine , nursing
2,2-Dichloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane (HCFC-123; CAS No. 306-83-2), a colorless light-ether-odor liquid with a boiling point of 27.6°C (at 1 Torr) and an ozone depletion potential of 0.02, is a substitute for a well-known ozone depleting substance trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) as a refrigerant, and 500 tons a year was shipped in Japan in 1996 according to the statistics surveyed by the Japan Fluorocarbon Manufacturers Association. In August, 1997, a workplace was set up to produce a small container (ca. 15 ml in volume) including HCFC123 as a refrigerant. The manufacturing process consisted of a preparation process, a refrigerant enclosure process in which HCFC-123 liquid is injected into a container, its leakage is checked, and the container is welded, and an inspection process. Use of HCFC-123 increased in mid-September when the refrigerant enclosure process started. This report describes the incident of liver dysfunction among 14 workers repeatedly exposed to HCFC123 in the processes, and the results of their health surveillance.