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Biomedical subjects

L D Pagnotto

Publications and source records attributed to L D Pagnotto.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Video display terminal use and reported health symptoms among Massachusetts clerical workers.

Few well-controlled studies have assessed the extent and magnitude of adverse health conditions reported by video display terminal (VDT) operators. To evaluate the association between typical, daily VDT use and the prevalence of adverse conditions related to vision, musculoskeletal conditions, headaches, and colds or sore throats, we conducted a cross-sectional, epidemiologic study of 1,545 Massachusetts clerical workers. The study results indicated an increased prevalence of adverse conditions pertaining to vision, musculoskeletal discomfort, and headaches among clerical workers who used VDTs. The magnitude of the increased prevalence was dose dependent. The effects related to musculoskeletal discomfort and headaches were higher among VDT workers in computer and data processing services, public utilities, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts than among workers in banking, communications, and hospitals. These latter effects, however, may have been due to random variation.

Common Cold↗
PubMed1982

Accelerated loss of FEV- in polyurethane production workers: a four-year prospective study.

A four-year longitudinal study of ventilatory function in polyurethane-foam production workers exposed to toluene diisocyanate (TDI) revealed a dose-response relationship between average exposure to TDI and change in forced expiratory volume per second (FEV-1). Workers with mean exposure in excess of 0.0035 ppm showed a greater rate of decline of FEV-1 over the four-year period than that expected from aging. Factors other than TDI exposure (sex, smoking history, history of atopy) do not account for the loss. The current threshold limit value (TLV) for exposure to TDI in industry (0.02 ppm) does not protect workers from accelerated impairment of ventilatory capacity.

Cyanates↗
PubMed1979

Benzene exposure in the rubber coating industry--a follow-up.

This paper is a follow-up on thirty-eight workers exposed from 1 to 24 years to average benzene concentrations generally between 5 and 50 ppm, but as high as 90 (peak of 140) in the case of one worker. One individual was diagnosed as suffering from mild benzene poisoning and a small number of workers in the group had blood changes considered abnormal, but blood dyscrasia or leukemia has not developed in 13 years after benzene use was terminated in 1964. The population studied was small, but the data, nevertheless, would appear to support the former ACGIH TLV of 25 ppm. One case of mild benzene poisoning reported from benzene exposures of the order of 40 ppm suggests, however, that the margin of safety may be small. The current ACGIH TLV of 10 ppm seems reasonable in the light of our findings.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1976

The silent hazard: an unusual case of mercury contamination of a dental suite.

Heavy exposure to mercury in a vandalized dental office suite where 20 lb of mercury was maliciously spilled on floors (some covered with rugs) and splattered on walls during a nighttime break-in is described. Monitoring of ambient mercury vapor levels after a clean-up suggested that mercury contamination was under control, but urinary mercury levels that continued to increase contradicted these findings. A further investigation showed that some sections of rugs were heavily contaminated. Unaware of this contamination, dental assistants, by regularly vacuuming the rugs, created a hazardous environment. The steps taken to resolve this problem are discussed, and the importance of the urine analysis for the monitoring of mercury exposure is emphasized.

Air Pollutants↗