The Influence of Working in Stone Crushing Factories on Specific Respiratory Parameters

Working in stone-cutting factories is a known source for silica dust exposure, which has pathogenic effects on the respiratory system resulting finally in silicosis which may end in malignancy. Many changes may occur in the pulmonary system including restrictive and obstructive respiratory patterns which can be detected by spirometrical testing. In this study, forced spirometry was used to measure the forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC and the respiratory pattern for 98 stone cutting factories in Palestine. Information about the use of breath protective methods, respiratory presenting complaints and occupational history were collected. The results showed that 20% of the workers complained from at least one respiratory symptom, including cough, sputum production and chest pain. The majority of the workers showed restrictive pattern accounting for 69% of all the workers, 67% of them showed only mild restriction. On the other hand, only 11.2% showed obstructive pattern, and the remaining had normal pattern. There was a non-significant decrease in the FEV1 values (p = 0.76), but a significant decrease in the FVC values ( p < 0.001). The FEV1/FVC values were significantly high (p < 0.001). The results were compared to the mean of the measured predictive values. It is concluded that working in stone-cutting factories influences the respiratory function in a negative way, and so necessitates urgent intervention to prevent health complications.