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Is colophony mostly a respiratory irritant??


I am recently interested in occupational asthma due to fluxes and I have read some of your papers regarding Colophony and asthma. I have some questions in that regard that I will be grateful if you could answer them for me:
1. Does non-occupational asthmatics react to soldering vapors (with or without Colophony) in a bronchospastic way? If there is no data regarding this question what would be your gut feeling? I ask that question since as far as I know we don’t know the exact mechanism of Colophony-induced asthma and so at least it could work as an non specific irritant and as such would have the potential to elicit a reaction in a non-occupational asthmatic at work or as a laboratory challenge test. Am I wrong?
2. If you agree that a non-occupational asthmatic might also react to Colophony in a non specific way, how one can differentiate in a worker exposed to Colophony, a Colophony-induced asthma from a non specific reaction to Colophony in a previously undiagnosed non- occupational asthmatic worker?
3. Does the challenge tests done with just colophony smoke or with the whole soldering smoke? It has been done with both.
4. Does a Colophony smoke need to exceed a certain concentration level in order to induce occupational asthma? Are there any official safety levels for Colophony?
Occupational Asthma, Specialist, 10/17/2013, 10/17/2013,

1. Colophny fume can occasionally cause irritant reactions in high dose in asthmatics with marked non-specific ractivity, but this is unusual. There is a lot of challenge data showing no reactions in many asthmatics. The best data comes from the relationship between colophony exposure and NSBR (Burge PS, Non-specific hyperreactivity in workers exposed to toluene diisocyanate, diphenyl methane diisocyanate and colophony, Eur J Respir Dis,1982;63suppl.1:91-96) where there was probable one irritant reaction in a severe asthmatic without previous colophony exposure

2. If you accept that regular exposure to ordinary levels of a respiratory irritant can cause occupational asthma, the clinical picture is the same (and probably the clinical consequences) It is likely to be just as bad for health (Burge PS, Moore VC, Robertson AS , Sensitization and irritant-induced occupational asthma with latency are clinically indistinguishable, Occup Med,2012;62:129-133)

3. The colophony exposures are colophony alone, the challenges with flux-cored solder in addition contain the activators (mostly amine hydrochlorides). (Burge PS, Harries MG, O'Brien IM, Pepys J, Bronchial provocation studies in workers exposed to the fumes of electronic soldering fluxes, Clin Allergy,1980;10:137-149)

4. There used to be an exposure standard based on the aldehyde content of the fume which has been discredited. There are methods for detecting the resin acids in air but they are difficult, clinically there seems to be a clear case for substitution which is reducing the number of solderers with occupational asthma that I see
Full Text Available for Sensitization and irritant-induced occupational asthma with latency are clinically indistinguishable Burge PS, Moore VC, Robertson AS, Sensitization and irritant-induced occupational asthma with latency are clinically indistinguishable, Occup Med, 2012;62:129-133,
Sherwood Burge, Oasys, an author of 'Sensitization and irritant-induced occupational asthma with latency are clinically indistinguishable' Vicky Moore, Oasys, an author of 'Sensitization and irritant-induced occupational asthma with latency are clinically indistinguishable' Alastair Robertson, Selly Oak Hospital, an author of 'Sensitization and irritant-induced occupational asthma with latency are clinically indistinguishable'

No Abstract Available for Non-specific hyperreactivity in workers exposed to toluene diisocyanate, diphenyl methane diisocyanate and colophony Burge PS, Non-specific hyperreactivity in workers exposed to toluene diisocyanate, diphenyl methane diisocyanate and colophony, Eur J Respir Dis, 1982;63 suppl.1:91-96,
Sherwood Burge, Oasys, an author of 'Non-specific hyperreactivity in workers exposed to toluene diisocyanate, diphenyl methane diisocyanate and colophony'

Abstract Available for Bronchial provocation studies in workers exposed to the fumes of electronic soldering fluxes Burge PS, Harries MG, O'Brien IM, Pepys J, Bronchial provocation studies in workers exposed to the fumes of electronic soldering fluxes, Clin Allergy, 1980;10:137-149,
Sherwood Burge, Oasys, an author of 'Bronchial provocation studies in workers exposed to the fumes of electronic soldering fluxes' Jack Pepys, Royal Brompton Hospital, an author of 'Bronchial provocation studies in workers exposed to the fumes of electronic soldering fluxes' Mark Harries, Brompton Hospital and Northwick Park, an author of 'Bronchial provocation studies in workers exposed to the fumes of electronic soldering fluxes'

10/17/2013

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