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BACKGROUND: The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) conducts surveillance of occupational pesticide illness as part of a program supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Disinfectants are classified as pesticides, and CDPH began surveillance of disinfectant illness in 2007. Analysis of surveillance data and subsequent site investigations are conducted to better understand where and why disinfectant exposures are occurring and how illnesses can be prevented.
METHODS: CDPH uses multiple reporting sources to track work-related disinfectant illness. The chemical agent, health effects, injury severity, industry and occupation, and a narrative describing the incident are abstracted from reports and medical records and are captured in a database. This data was examined to determine the industries with high illness rates in which industry-specific field investigations would be conducted to further understand illness risk factors and opportunities for intervention.
RESULTS: The overall rate of work-related disinfectant illness in California is 1.8 per 100,000 workers (2007-2012). However, the disinfectant illness rate for the animal slaughtering and processing industry is 52 per 100,000 workers and 7 per 100,000 workers in beverage and tobacco manufacturing. Among animal processing industries the majority of cases occur in chicken processing facilities and are caused by worker exposure to a variety of commercial disinfectants; CDPH has initiated a series of site visits to these facilities. Among beverage manufacturing industries the majority of illnesses happen in winemaking, with several severe illnesses involving the use of ozone as a disinfectant. This presentation describes site visits conducted to date. One winery site visit allowed for observation of the unique process of on-site ozone generation for disinfection and subsequent visits are planned to conduct measurement of ozone levels during disinfection tasks in comparison to the Cal/OSHA 8-hour time-weighted average permissible exposure limit (0.1 ppm) and the short-term exposure limit (0.3 ppm). Plans to create outreach materials for workers on how to safely disinfect with ozone will be discussed.
CONCLUSIONS: Rates of work-related pesticide illness in animal processing and beverage manufacturing industries in California are significantly higher than the overall rate of work-related disinfectant illness in California and warrant further investigation. Site visits to animal processing and beverage manufacturing facilities have been helpful to learn about disinfection chemicals and processes used. Site visit results are used to inform public health recommendations and outreach materials to prevent illnesses in these industries.