Changes Induced by Exposure of the Human Lung to Glass Fiber-Reinforced Plastic

• Published in: Environmental health perspectives 2006-11, Vol.114 (11), p.1725-1729
• Main Authors: Abbate, Carmelo, Giorgianni, Concetto, Brecciaroli, Renato, Giacobbe, Giovanni, Costa, Chiara, Cavallari, Vittorio, Albiero, Francesca, Catania, Stefania, Tringali, Maria Antonietta, Martino, Lucia Barbaro, Abbate, Simona
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Air Pollutants, Occupational - toxicity; Anemia; Bones; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid - chemistry; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid - cytology; Catalase - metabolism; Chemical hazards; Environmental health; Environmental Medicine; Erythrocyte indices; Gases; Glass; Glutathione - metabolism; Heart rate; Humans; Lead; Lung - drug effects; Lung - metabolism; Lung - pathology; Male; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Normativity; Occupational Exposure - adverse effects; Patella; Plastics - toxicity; Respiratory tract diseases
• ISSN: 0091-6765; 1552-9924
• DOI: 10.1289/ehp.8676

The inhalation of glass dusts mixed in resin, generally known as glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GRP), represents a little-studied occupational hazard. The few studies performed have high-lighted nonspecific lung disorders in animals and in humans. In the present study we evaluated the alteration of the respiratory system and the pathogenic mechanisms causing the changes in a group of working men employed in different GRP processing operations and exposed to production dusts. The study was conducted on a sample of 29 male subjects whose mean age was 37 years and mean length of service 11 years. All of the subjects were submitted to a clinical check-up, basic tests, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL); microscopic studies and biochemical analysis were performed on the BAL fluid. Tests of respiratory function showed a large number of obstructive syndromes; scanning electron microscopy highlighted qualitative and quantitative alterations of the alveolar macrophages; and transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of electron-dense cytoplasmatic inclusions indicating intense and active phlogosis (external inflammation). Biochemical analyses highlighted an increase in protein content associated with alterations of the lung oxidant/antioxidant homeostasis. Inhalation of GRP, independent of environmental concentration, causes alterations of the cellular and humoral components of pulmonary interstitium; these alterations are identified microscopically as acute alveolitis.