Managing the Risk of Occupational Allergy in the Enzyme Detergent Industry

Figures & data

Table 1 Key Elements of Best Practices Guidelines for Use of Detergent Enzymes^(7,8)

	Exposure Control Element	Description
Plan	Enzyme raw material quality and form (granulate and tablet detergent operations)	Encapsulated enzymes, not powders, are used for production of granulate or tablet forms of detergent products to reduce dust generation.Note: Liquid enzymes are not encapsulated representing a different exposure scenario in which added care must be taken to control exposure.
Plan	Equipment handling enzymes or enzyme- containing products q43 designed to follow the hierarchy of controls with the first principle to incorporate exposure prevention into the design of equipment and processes.	Equipment handling enzymes or enzyme-containing products are designed to reduce exposure through use of local exhaust ventilation and intrinsic spill prevention systems and all processing equipment is designed to be leak-free, reliable, and minimize damage to raw materials and packaging. General ventilation in the workplace is installed as needed to reduce the likelihood and duration of exposure during, cleaning, inspection, and maintenance activities.
Plan	Safe practices, cleaning methods, and administrative controls are developed to ensure that exposures during both routine and non-routine product tasks are in place.	Qualitative and quantitative exposure assessments are part of the system for managing change to ensure that safe practices, methods of cleaning, and proper use of protective clothing and respiratory protection are developed and clearly identified to potentially exposed employees.
Do	All employees are provided with training on possible sources of exposure, the appropriate countermeasures to prevent exposure, and the required maintenance of all equipment handling enzymes.	Safe practices for prevention of exposure are understood by employees as are the countermeasures needed to prevent exposure. Employees are clear about the importance of conducting preventive maintenance on enzyme manufacturing equipment as well as local exhaust and general ventilation systems. A preventive maintenance program exists for all equipment which identifies a responsible party.
Check	Performance assessments are routinely conducted on the status of equipment and of safe behaviors in the workplace. All levels of the operation participate in these programs to reinforce the key elements of exposure prevention.	Compliance targets are established which at a minimum cover: Quantitative and qualitative exposure assessments for detecting sources of routine and peak exposure. Equipment condition assessments Behavior observation or other behavior-based safety techniques are used to reinforce safety practices, proper cleaning and maintenance of equipment, and proper use of protective clothing and respiratory protection. Medical surveillance including a respiratory questionnaire and skin prick testing or serological testing is recommended.
Act	Investigations for all items that do not meet established compliance targets are completed and corrective actions and follow-up are completed to deliver improved performance against those success criteria.

Table 2 Overview of Health Surveillance Experience in the Detergent Industry

	No. of	No. of	Uptake	Incidence	Prevalence	Symptoms
Year	factories	workers	^A (%)	^B (%)	^C (%)	^D (%)
2006	107	22100	96.0	0.99	8.6	0.11
2007	109	23668	95.6	0.76	8.1	0.08
2008	114	23976	94.4	1.04	7.8	0.26
2009	106	22686	97.0	0.82	7.3	0.05
2010	106	24773	94.9	0.97	8.5	0.05

^A The percentage of the workforce that participate in the surveillance programs.

^B The percentage of new cases of sensitization during the calendar year.

^C The prevalence of sensitization in the exposed workforce.

^D Evidence of rhinitis, conjunctivitis, impaired lung function, asthma not clearly linked to a non-occupational causation.

Table 3 Overview of Air Monitoring Experience in the Detergent Industry

	No. of	No. of	No. above	Incidence
Year	factories	readings	action standard	^A (%)
2006	82	288318	1592	0.55
2007	83	276193	1344	0.49
2008	89	267147	2546	0.95
2009	90	306986	2400	0.78
2010	95	344853	1715	0.50
Mean	88	296681	1919	0.65

^A Proportion of readings above the action standard (i.e., 60ng/m³ or lower; typical occupational action standards for enzymes are 6 – 15 ng/m³).

U.S. Soap and Detergent Association (now American Cleaning Institute): “Work Practices Handling Enzymes in the Detergent Industry, 1995. Available at http://www.cleaninginstitute.org (accessed May 11, 2015).

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Cho J.H., J.D. Suh, J.K. Kim, et al.: Correlation between skin-prick testing, individual specific IgE tests, and a multiallergen IgE assay for allergy detection in patients with chronic rhinitis. Am. J. Rhinol. Allergy 28: 388–391 (2014).

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