TABLE 4.
Reported Exposures among Work-Related Asthma Cases by Cleaning Product and Case Classification Category: California, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York, 1998–2012*
| Cleaning Product Category a | Work-Aggravated Asthma | New-Onset Asthma (NOA) | All Confirmed Cases | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome | Occupational Asthma | Total NOA Cases | ||||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | |
| Cleaning materials (not specified cleaning materials and household, general purpose cleaners) | 156 | 29.1 | 51 | 24.2 | 166 | 35.0 | 217 | 31.7 | 513 | 31.2 |
| Floor strippers/Floor waxes | 108 | 20.1 | 23 | 10.9 | 66 | 13.9 | 89 | 13.0 | 259 | 15.8 |
| Bleach | 67 | 12.5 | 34 | 16.1 | 47 | 9.9 | 81 | 11.8 | 202 | 12.3 |
| Disinfectant (not specified disinfectants, not specified disinfectant cleaners, and pine oil cleaner) | 43 | 8.0 | 9 | 4.3 | 39 | 8.2 | 48 | 7.0 | 118 | 7.2 |
| Carpet cleaner | 25 | 4.7 | 11 | 5.2 | 14 | 3.0 | 25 | 3.7 | 76 | 4.6 |
| Improper cleaning product mixtures | 20 | 3.7 | 30 | 14.2 | 8 | 1.7 | 38 | 5.6 | 72 | 4.4 |
| Quaternary ammonia compounds | 18 | 3.4 | 6 | 2.8 | 32 | 6.8 | 38 | 5.6 | 66 | 4.0 |
| Ammonia | 17 | 3.2 | 7 | 3.3 | 11 | 2.3 | 18 | 2.6 | 53 | 3.2 |
| Acids, bases, or oxidizers | 15 | 2.8 | 8 | 3.8 | 14 | 3.0 | 22 | 3.2 | 46 | 2.8 |
| Chemicals, not specified | 9 | 1.7 | 3 | 1.4 | 7 | 1.5 | 10 | 1.5 | 26 | 1.6 |
| Alcohols (not specified alcohols, ethanol, and isopropyl alcohol) | 7 | 1.3 | 0 | - | 7 | 1.5 | 7 | 1.0 | 20 | 1.2 |
| Glycol ethers (not specified ethylene glycol ethers, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and 2-butoxyethanol) | 4 | 0.7 | 4 | 1.9 | 4 | 0.8 | 8 | 1.2 | 18 | 1.1 |
| Soaps, detergents, and laundry soaps | 6 | 1.1 | 1 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.4 | 3 | 0.4 | 17 | 1.0 |
| Hydrocarbons (not specified aromatic hydrocarbons, toluene, and xylene) and solvents, not specified | 4 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.5 | 9 | 1.9 | 10 | 1.5 | 16 | 1.0 |
| Cleaners (abrasive, acid, caustic, and citric) | 6 | 1.1 | 2 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.6 | 5 | 0.7 | 15 | 0.9 |
| Oven cleaner | 3 | 0.6 | 3 | 1.4 | 2 | 0.4 | 5 | 0.7 | 14 | 0.9 |
| Inorganic halogens (chlorine, chlorine dioxide, chlorous acid, and sodium chlorite) | 5 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.9 | 4 | 0.8 | 6 | 0.9 | 14 | 0.9 |
| Graffiti remover | 2 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.5 | 4 | 0.8 | 5 | 0.7 | 12 | 0.7 |
| Ethanolamines | 3 | 0.6 | 3 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.8 | 7 | 1.0 | 11 | 0.7 |
| Toilet bowl cleaner | 0 | - | 1 | 0.5 | 3 | 0.6 | 4 | 0.6 | 11 | 0.7 |
| All other cleaning products b | 18 | 3.4 | 11 | 5.2 | 28 | 5.9 | 38 | 5.6 | 63 | 3.8 |
| Total c | 536 | 211 | 474 | 684 | 1642 | |||||
Data are available for California (CA), Massachusetts (MA), and Michigan (MI) for the period between1998 and 2012, New Jersey (NJ) between 1998 and 2011, and New York (NY) between 2009 and 2012.
See Appendix for the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC) Exposure Codes associated with each cleaning product category.
All other cleaning products’ represents cleaning products (see Appendix) with counts less than 10.
Individuals can report exposures up to three cleaning products. For work-aggravated asthma cases, 265 had exposure to 1, 110 to 2, and 17 to 3 cleaning products. For reactive airways dysfunction syndrome cases, 87 had exposure to 1, 38 to 2, and 16 to 3 cleaning products. For occupational asthma cases, 196 had exposure to 1, 92 to 2, and 31 to 3 cleaning products. For new-onset asthma cases, 283 had exposure to 1, 130 to 2, and 47 to 3 cleaning products. For all confirmed work-related asthma cases, 828 had exposure to 1, 299 to 2, and 72 to 3 cleaning products.