Abstract

A respiratory survey was carried out in 1,932 workers in the pulp and paper mill in Powell River, British Columbia. The survey included a medical-occupational questionnaire, spirometry, chest radiographs, and environmental monitoring. The results obtained in 1,826 white male workers were analyzed.

The workers were divided into 6 groups according to the type of exposure at work: subjects in group 1 were mainly exposed to gases, vapors, and chemicals in the kraft mill; group 2, to wood dust; group 3, to paper dust; group 4, to CO; group 5, to all kinds of air contaminants; group 6 (control subjects), to much lower levels of various air contaminants at work. We were unable to demonstrate an increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function abnormalities among workers exposed to gases and chemicals in the kraft mill. However, we found that workers exposed to wood dust had slightly but significantly lower pulmonary function compared to other groups.

Although cigarette smoking had a significant deleterious effect on pulmonary function, as expected, alcohol consumption also affected pulmonary function. Among nonsmokers, those who admitted to having more than 3 drinks per day had significantly lower pulmonary function than those who had no drinks or fewer than 3 drinks per day during the previous week. Among current smokers and ex-smokers, the effect of alcohol consumption on pulmonary function was not significant.

The concentrations of sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and chlorine encountered in Powell River were low, well below the currently accepted threshold limit values, and this may account for the negative findings in this study. Similar studies should be carried out in other pulp and paper mills in British Columbia to establish whether the currently accepted threshold limit values for these gases are adequate.

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