A Study on adverse effect of smoke/flue on lung functions of glass factory workers of Firozabad district

Abstract

The pulmonary function impairment is the most common respiratory problem in industrial plants and their vicinity. Therefore, the purpose was to study the effects of furnace smoke and flue and its duration of exposure on lung function. This was a matched cross-sectional study of Spirometry in 100 bangle workers with age range 20 – 60 years, who worked without the benefit of smoke control ventilation or respiratory protective devices. Pulmonary function test was performed by using Digital Spirometer (Spiro-excel). Significant reduction was observed in the mean values of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1), Forced Expiratory Ratio (FEV1/FVC), Forced Expiratory Flow (25%-75%) and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) in bangle workers relative to their matched controls. This impairment was increased with the duration of exposure to fumes in bangle industries. It is concluded that lung function in bangle workers is impaired and stratification of results shows a dose-response effect of years of smoke and flue exposure on lung function.