Lung function and chest radiography changes of asphalt fume exposed workers

Objective To explore the changes of lung function and chestradiography among workers exposed to asphalt fume.Methods Fifty-three asphalt fume exposed and 50 unexposed workers were selected froma factory and their lung function and chest radiography were examined.Results Compared with the unexposed,VC and MVV in exposed workers were significant different(P<0.05).Compared with the unexposed,FEV₁ in exposed workers were significantly different(P<0.01).Further analysis revealed that there was a negatively correlation between FEV₁ and the duration of exposure to asphalt fume(r=-0.321,p<0.05).MVV and the exposure duration to asphalt fume were also negatively correlated(r=-0.287,P<0.05).Compared with the unexposed,detection rate of abnormal chest radiograph in the exposed were significantly different(P<0.05).Compared with the duration exposure to asphalt fume<5 years group,detection rate of abnormal chestradiog raph in 5-20 years group and>20 years were significantly higher(P<0.05).Conclusion Asphalt fume could affect lung function among exposed workers and the longer the duration of exposure,the more severe the lung injury is.