Occupational Asthma Causative Agents / Sensitisers

For many occupational asthma causative agents / sensitisers the risk of occupational asthma is increased as the level of exposure is increased. Try to reduce the exposure as much as possible by extracting, enclosing the agent, by using respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and by using clean working methods. All of the causative agents listed here carry a risk of occupational asthma and employers should provide health surveillance.

To carry out health surveillance assess a worker’s respiratory health before they start work to provide a baseline record. Ensure a regular (at least annual) questionnaire and clinical assessment and follow up the results. If workers are identified as having possible occupational asthma they should be referred to a specialist as quickly as possible.

The causative agents below contain occupational asthma information, resources, references and links. A list of related jobs is also shown. There are many substances that can cause occupational asthma, and only a very few of the more common are mention here.

Recently Discovered Agents

			Occupational asthma due to Copperleaf (new cause)
			Occupational asthma due to Panax ginseng and Sanyak (Dioscorea batatas); new causes
			Occupational asthma in a pharmaceutical worker due to Aescin (new cause)
			Asthma in a chemist due to TBTU (new cause)
			Positive challenge to linseed oilcake in chemist
			Occupational rhinitis due to sodium alendronate (new cause)
			occupational asthma due to chamomile tea dust (new cause)
			Occupational asthma in a crusher of almond shells (new cause)
			Occupational asthma in brush makers (new cause)
			Asthma in a florist due to Ivy (new cause)
			Eugenol causes occupational asthma and rhinitis (new cause)
			Occupational Asthma from Hydroxylamine (new cause)
			Pork meat as a cause of occupational asthma in butchers
			Sevoflurane and isoflurane cause occupational asthma in healthcare workers (new cause)
			Occupational Asthma from Achillea millefolium and Carthamus tinctorius (New Cause)

External Links

	List of substances that can cause occupational asthma (HSE, UK)
A list of substances that can cause occupational asthma from the UK Health and Safety Executive. This is not an exhaustive list.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/asthma/substances.htm