Occupational (Work-Related) Asthma

General Information About Work-related Asthma

There are hundreds of known causes of work-related asthma.  Each year in Michigan, about 150 new cases of asthma caused by exposures to substances at work are reported to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth (MDLEG).  Inspections at the companies where these people work find large numbers of fellow workers with asthma or breathing symptoms like asthma.  The work exposures may make a person’s existing asthma worse, or cause new asthma either from becoming allergic to a workplace substance or from exposure to a high level of an irritant chemical.

Over 400 substances that can cause asthma in the work place have been identified, and the list continues to grow.  Even very low levels of exposure to some of these substances can aggravate or cause asthma.  However, employees, employers and health care professionals are often unaware of the association of an individual’s asthma with exposure to substances in the work place. 

In Michigan, new cases of work-related asthma are identified in 140-150 workers each year; this is an underestimate of the true number of individuals developing asthma from work place exposures in our state.  It is estimated there are 228-801 individuals a year who develop work-related asthma in Michigan.  Since approximately 15% of asthma is considered to be work-related, and there are at least 500,000 adults with asthma in Michigan, a special State tracking program has been identifying individuals with work-related asthma since 1988.  The program interviews workers about their work place exposures, their symptoms and the timing of symptoms in relation to work.  In some cases, Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) enforcement officers inspect the work places of the individuals identified in the tracking program.  The inspections document exposures, the presence of other symptomatic co-workers, and compliance with Michigan OSHA regulations.  Each year, a summary of the findings from this tracking program is published. 

Click here to find the most recent report on Work-Related Asthma in Michigan. Find a job-related asthma fact sheet by clicking here. For a brochure on asthma and cleaning products, click here. A recent work-related death investigation by MIOSHA and the Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (MIFACE) research program revealed that a worker died from an acute asthmatic attack caused by exposure to isocyanates while applying a spray-on truck bedliner. Click here for a copy of the MIFACE report. You may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files.

Substances at work that can cause asthma, and types of work related asthma:  
There are 3 types of work-related asthma. Click here to learn more about the types of work-related asthma, and to find a list of known substances that can cause asthma.

Myths about work-related asthma:  There are some commonly held beliefs about work-related asthma that just aren't true. Click here to find out all about them.

Diagnosing and preventing work-related asthma:  Find out how work-related asthma is diagnosed, how it can be prevented, and what can be done about it by clicking here.

Need more information about how to screen for work-related asthma? Click here.
 

Resources:  Click here to go to the links page, then click on worksites/employers to find more resources about work-related asthma.

Based on materials reviewed and provided by the Michigan State University Occupational and Environmental MedicineDepartment, 2003, updated 2004