Airway disease caused by phenolic (phenol-formaldehyde) resin exposure

A standardized respiratory questionnaire and pulmonary function tests, including measurement of forced vital capacity (FVC), one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1.0), and maximum expiratory flow rate at 50% FVC (MEF50%), were administered to five groups of employees in a filter-manufacturing plant to determine the acute and chronic effects of exposure to phenolic resin fumes. Employees exposed for more than five years had lower FEV1.0/FVC and MEF50%/FVC ratios than a group that had smoked more but that had never been consistently exposed to resin fumes. The existence of chronic airway obstruction was also evident by a slight excess of chronic cough and sputum production in the exposed groups. However, in spite of the high proportions of subjects reporting acute respiratory symptoms, we found only small decreased in pulmonary function during the workday and workweek.