Spirometry

About 1 in 6 cases of asthma in adults of working age is thought to be caused by occupational exposure.  Many different substances have been reported to cause Occupational Asthma (OA) and the major risk determinant for the development of OA is the level of exposure to its causes (BOHRF 2010).

The most frequently reported agents include isocyanates, flour, grain and hay dust, Glutaraldehyde, wood dusts, soldering fluxes, latex, laboratory animals and some glues and resins (HSE 2005).

A Spirometry test is a way of assessing how your lungs are working. A spirometer is a machine that measures the amount of air you can breathe out in one breath and the amount of air you can blow out in 1 second.

Spirometry can be carried out by Well Travelled Clinics as a stand-alone test or as part of a wider medical surveillance. 

Ideally, you would start this surveillance before people are exposed to an occupational allergen to give a baseline reading (i.e. for new starters or those changing jobs). It can, however, be introduced at any time for employees already exposed. This would be followed by a regular series of checks.

References

HSE 2005. Respiratory sensitisers and COSHH. Breathe freely: An employers’ leaflet on preventing occupational asthma. 05/05 HSE.

BOHRF 2010. Occupational Asthma, A guide for Occupational Health Professionals, Safety Professionals and Safety Representatives.  March 2010. British Occupational Health Research Foundation