Deliver Your News to the World

Identifying Respiratory Irritants, Allergens and Known Asthma Triggers to Mitigate Occupational Asthma Risks

Clark Seif Clark provides industrial hygiene and indoor environmental quality testing services to protect workers from airborne pollutants known to cause, or exacerbate, respiratory conditions.


Chatsworth, CA – WEBWIRE

Whether it’s exposure to flour dust or one of the other 250+ substances reported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that are known, or believed, to cause or exacerbate work-related asthma, the end result can be disabling.

Occupational asthma, also known as work-related asthma, can dramatically impact a worker’s quality of life and reduce their productivity. Sadly, it’s the most common occupational lung disease in the United States and the condition increases costs to employees, employers and society.
 
As an example, inhalation exposure to something as basic as flour dust can cause a condition known as baker’s asthma. Flour dust made from wheat, corn, rye, barley, oats, rice or other cereal grains can have many components. It is often a complex mixture that includes proteins, enzymes and baker’s additives, which could include sweeteners, coloring, flavoring and other ingredients. Exposure to flour dust is an occupational concern for more than just bakers. Workers in commercial kitchens, grinding mills, packaging plants, and the many other food processing and manufacturing facilities that use flour could all come in regular contact with it. Any of these workers could be at risk of developing eye and respiratory irritation, allergies and baker’s asthma if they are exposed to it over a long enough period of time. Even skin contact with flour dust can cause dermatitis in some workers.
 
“Whether it’s exposure to flour dust or one of the other 250+ substances reported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that are known, or believed, to cause or exacerbate work-related asthma, the end result can be disabling,” said Zahid Iqbal, MPH, CIH and Technical Director at Clark Seif Clark (CSC). “As many as 2 million workers may have occupational asthma according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). While the goal is to prevent the condition in the first place, for those that do suffer from occupational asthma, it is imperative that it is caught and managed early, otherwise it is likely to continue and get worse.” 
 
The environmental, health and safety professionals at CSC have the ability to help prevent or mitigate worker exposure to known respiratory irritants, allergens and known asthma triggers through testing, monitoring and training services. CSC also recently sponsored an educational video about baker’s asthma and exposure to flour dust that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/FHcAypJJUFA
 
To learn more about this or other industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, environmental, health and safety services, please visit www.csceng.com, email csc@csceng.com or call (800) 807-1118. 
 
About Clark Seif Clark
CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both public and private sectors address indoor air quality, occupational, environmental, and health and safety (EH&S) issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering, making them the preferred environmental consultants to industrial clients, healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals.
 


( Press Release Image: https://photos.webwire.com/prmedia/12710/264715/264715-1.jpg )


WebWireID264715




 
 Asthma
 Occupational Asthma
 Osha
 Air Testing
 Industrial Hygiene


This news content may be integrated into any legitimate news gathering and publishing effort. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.