Researchers at the School of Medicine have launched a study to determine how commonly used chemicals in autobody paint shops may cause or aggravate asthma. The study, titled "Survey of Painters and Repairers in Autobodies by Yale" (SPRAY), is also aimed at finding better ways to protect workers' health.
"Our goal is to investigate the health risks from exposure to chemicals called isocyanates at autobody shops in New Haven and New London counties," says Dr. Mark R. Cullen, director of Yale's Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program and the study's principal investigator.
Paints used in autobody shops often contain isocyanates, which are highly reactive chemicals known to trigger respiratory symptoms and asthma. Isocyanates are one of the main causes of occupational asthma, say the researchers.
SPRAY is funded by a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based in Atlanta, Georgia.
The program will provide participating autobody shops with free industrial hygiene evaluations. Yale researchers will evaluate the working environments in several shops for isocyanate exposure, make recommendations to reduce their exposure to chemicals, and give workers free respiratory health evaluations.
Although isocanates, which bond rapidly to make polyurethane, are a minor component of the paint found in autobody shops, they are "a major biological problem because they are very reactive with people as well," according to Dr. Cullen, who is also professor of medicine and public health at Yale. "Isocyanates account for the highest number of reported cases of occupational asthma in the United States. and other developed countries," he adds.
Dr. Cullen's research team at the School of Medicine includes Joyce Chung, clinical researcher; Dr. Carrie Redlich, associate professor of medicine; Carole Holm, clinical nurse coordinator; and Youcheng Liu and Judy Sparer, industrial hygienists.
For more information about this study or to participate, call 764-9794.