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. 2010 May;52(5):505-12.
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e3181d6c338.

Evaluation of a preventive program to reduce sensitization at a beryllium metal, oxide, and alloy production plant

Rachel L Bailey  1 , Carrie A Thomas, David C Deubner, Michael S Kent, Kathleen Kreiss, Christine R Schuler
Affiliations

Evaluation of a preventive program to reduce sensitization at a beryllium metal, oxide, and alloy production plant

Rachel L Bailey et al. J Occup Environ Med. 2010 May.

Abstract

Objective: We evaluated a workplace preventive program's effectiveness, which emphasized skin and respiratory protection, workplace cleanliness, and beryllium migration control in lowering beryllium sensitization.

Methods: We compared sensitization prevalence and incidence rates for workers hired before and after the program using available cross sectional and longitudinal surveillance data.

Results: Sensitization prevalence was 8.9% for the Pre-Program Group and 2.1% for the Program Group. The sensitization incidence rate was 3.7/1000 person-months for the Pre-Program Group and 1.7/1000 person-months for the Program Group. After making adjustments for potential selection and information bias, sensitization prevalence for the Pre-Program Group was 3.8 times higher (95% CI = 1.5 to 9.3) than the Program Group. The sensitization incidence rate ratio comparing the Pre-Program Group to the Program Group was 1.6 (95% CI = 0.8 to 3.6).

Conclusions: This preventive program reduced the prevalence of but did not eliminate beryllium sensitization.

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