Work-Related Asthma from Exposure to Isocyanate Levels Below the Michigan OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit

This paper examines the characteristics of 261 work-related asthma (WRA) cases exposed to isocyanates reported to an occupational disease surveillance system in Michigan from 1988-1998, and reviews Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) inspections at 42 of the facilities where they worked. After October of 1993 when the Michigan OSHA program implemented a newer sampling methodology for isocyanates, 42 inspections were conducted in relation to the WRA cases reported. Samples for isocyanates were not collected in one facility. Isocyanate air levels at 40 of the 41 companies where measurements were taken revealed exposures