Korean J Occup Environ Med.  2012 Dec;24(4):449-459.

Seven Cases of Respiratory Symptoms Caused by Acute Ozone Exposure from an Electronics Company

• Kwon YJ
• Woo KH
• Kim JS
• Yoon SY
• Song IU
• Yu JY
• Cho SY

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Ozone is a colorless, pungent, and highly reactive gas. It can cause headaches, burning eyes, irritation to the respiratory passages, and dyspnea. This article describes cases of respiratory difficulty associated with acute ozone exposure from an electronics company that manufactures touchscreen.
CASE REPORT
Seven young female workers visited the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, complaining of cough, dyspnea, and chest discomfort that started within two days at work processing a touchscreen with ozone (0.103 ppm ozone detected in the their workplace). Other; symptoms observed included rhinorrhea, headaches, and dizziness. There was a temporary improvement in symptoms upon taking a day off, but their symptoms deteriorated upon continuing work again-suggesting the ozone exposure in their work environment was responsible for their symptoms. The results of pulmonary function and blood laboratory tests were normal; however, laryngoscopy and nasal endoscopy identified three cases of inflammation on laryngeal, intranasal, or vocal cord regions.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the levels of ozone detected in the workplace and clinical symptoms presented, we conclude that the respiratory symptoms in these cases were caused by excessive ozone exposures.

Keyword

Ozone; Cough; Dyspnea

MeSH Terms

Burns
Cough
Dizziness
Dyspnea
Electronics
Electrons
Endoscopy
Environmental Medicine
Eye
Female
Headache
Humans
Inflammation
Laryngoscopy
Ozone
Thorax
Vocal Cords
Ozone

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The floor plans of the workplace.

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  Fig. 2 The result of laryngoscopy or transnasal endoscopy of case 1, 3, 7. (A) Edema was noticed at vocal cord in case 1. (B) Intranasal edema was noticed in case 3. (C) Mild erosion was noticed at laryngeal mucosa in case 7.

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