Fever Metal fume

The most significant occupational exposures to zinc would occur during the smelting and refining of zinc ore. The standards for occupational exposure have been estabUshed at a level to prevent the onset of metal fume fever. This temporary condition is caused by excessive exposure to freshly formed fumes of zinc oxide and results in flulike symptoms of fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting. 

Inhalation of dusts can cause metal fume fever (79,80), and ulceration or perforation of the nasal septum. Mild discomfort has been noted with workplace concentrations as low as 0.08 mg/m. The workplace standard (TLV) for copper dusts or mist is 1 mg/m and 0.2 mg/m for copper fume (81). 

METAL FUME FEVER Nou-speeifie, self-limiting illness resembling an attaek of influenza eaused mainly by exposure to fumes of zine, eopper, or magnesium and less frequently due to exposure to other metal fumes. Exposures oeeur from molten metals, e.g. in smelting, galvanizing, welding. 

Metal fume fever A fever suffered by workers who inhale metal fumes from a process. 

Although Mg is generally considered non-toxic, the inhalation of fumes of freshly sublimed Mg oxide may cause metal fume fever. There is no evidence that Mg produces, true systemic poisoning. Particles of metallic Mg or Mg alloy which perforate the skin of gain entry thru cuts and scratched rilay produce a severe local lesion characterized by the evolution of gas and acute inflammatory reaction, frequently with necrosis. The condition Has been called a chemical gas gangrene . Gaseous blebs may develop within 24 hrs of the injury. The lesion is very slow to heal (Ref 23)... 

Metal fume fever is the name given to a curious illness that can occur when some of these fumes are inhaled. It is also known as brass chills, foundry ague, or foundry shakes, among other names. The condition can occur in brass foundries, during operations in the galvanizing industry, during welding, or in processes where molten metals, particularly zinc, are used. The cause is not really understood, but the condition is well-... 

Dust can be stirred up by treading or other movement and can permeate the atmosphere and be inhaled. The dust that one can see can give rise to irritation and even dermatitis, but the dust that is inhaled can accumulate in the lungs and elsewhere and give rise to a variety of diseases from lead poisoning to metal fume fever. 

Toxieology. Copper fume causes irritation of the upper respiratory tract and metal fume fever (MFF), an influenza-like illness. 

McCord CP Metal fume fever as an immunological disease. IndMed 29 101-106, 1960... 

Borak J, Cohen H, Hethmon TA Copper exposure and metal fume fever lack of causal relationship. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 61(6) 832-836, 2000... 

In a very early report, experimental subjects exposed to fresh magnesium oxide fume developed metal fume fever, an illness similar to influenza effects were fever, cough, oppression in the chest, and leukocytosis. After the introduction of a new process resulting in exposure to magnesium oxide fume in the 1980s, several German foundry workers developed recurrent occupational fever that was also interpreted as metal fume fever. ... 

Drinker KR, Thomson RM, Finn JL Metal fume fever. The effects of inhaled magnesium oxide fume.y Ind Hyg 9 187-192, 1927... 

Hartmann AL, Hartmann W, Buhlmann AA [Magnesium oxide as cause of metal fume fever]. Schweiz Med Wochenschr 113(21) 766-770, 1983 (German)... 

Inhalation of mercury vapor may produce a metal fume fever-like syndrome, including chills, nausea, general malaise, tighmess in the chest, and respiratory symptoms. High concentrations cause corrosive bronchitis and interstitial pneumonitis. In the most severe cases, the patient will succumb because of respiratory insufficiency. In one episode involving four workers, it was estimated that mercurial pneumonitis resulted from exposure for several hours to concentrations ranging between 1 and 3mg/m. ... 

Selenium dusts produce respiratory tract irritation manifested by nasal discharge, loss of smell, epistaxis, and cough. A group of workers briefly exposed to unmeasured but high concentrations of selenium fume developed severe irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, followed by headaches. Transient dyspnea occurred in one case. Workers exposed to an undetermined concentration of selenium oxide developed bronchospasm and dyspnea followed within 12 hours by metal fume fever (chills, fever, headache) and bronchitis, leading to pneumonitis in a few cases all were asymptomatic within a week. ... 

Toxieology. Amorphous silica fume exposure is associated with recurrent fever, similar to metal fume fever, and nonprogressive pulmonary changes. 

The disease process in workers exposed to silica fume was originally described as silicosis or acute silicosis, but it is now recognized that the X-ray pattern and symptom complex are different from both, the severity of the symptoms is less, and there is apparently no progression. It has been postulated that heavy exposure to freshly formed silica fume causes an acute reaction similar to metal fume fever. Continued or repeated exposure causes the ferroalloy disease, which has been described. This is characterized by recurrent fever over a period of 3-12 weeks, with the appearance of X-ray markings similar to silicosis. The development of classic silicosis may be the result of long, continued exposure to amorphous silica fume, or possibly concurrent exposure to crystalline silica. 

Of 900 African production workers in a ferroalloy plant, 35 cases of ferroalloy worker disease were identified over a 10-year period. These were either acute episodes of metal fume fever or pulmonary fibrosis recognized by X... 

Toxicology. Inhalation of zinc oxide fume causes an influenza-like illness termed metal fume fever. 

Rohrs LC Metal-fume fever from inhaling zinc oxide. AMA Arch Ind Health 16 42-47, 1957... 

Blanc PD, Wong H, Bernstein MS, et al An experimental human model of metal fume fever. Ann Int Med 114 930-936, 1991... 

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