Pulmonary function and symptoms of Nigerian workers exposed to cement dust

The pulmonary and nonpulmonary effects of cement dust exposure in 52 randomly selected, directly exposed cement workers and 24 maintenance workers were investigated. Compared with the nonindustrially exposed population, both subgroups had significantly (P less than 0.001) lower lung function. The lung function of the exposed subjects was probably influenced by the level of physical activity and the level of dust exposure. The more directly exposed cement packers had significantly (P less than 0.05) lower lung function than the less exposed cement loaders. There was no significant difference in the lung function of the directly exposed groups and the maintenance group, but the physically more active cement loaders showed higher lung function values than the maintenance workers. The lung function of the cement workers also decreased with the duration of employment. Cement dust produced significant (P less than 0.001) workshift depression in the lung function of the subjects. The symptoms presented by the subjects were cough and phlegm production, skin irritation, chest tightness, conjunctivitis, catarrh, stomachache, and boils. The prevalence of stomachache among the subjects becomes significant in the light of a finding by other workers of hepatic granuloma in cement workers. The measured dust level in the cement depot was 30.81 mg/m3.