The objectives of the study were to determine whether grinders and brazers of
hard metal and stellite blades have more respiratory symptoms and
dermatoses than referents and to obtain information on the relation between respiratory symptoms and combined exposure to
cobalt and wood dust. Two groups of workers exposed to
cobalt (108 workers in the manufacture or maintenance of tools and 116 saw filers in the mechanical wood-processing industry) and two reference groups (106 rolling mill and 103 sawmill workers) were interviewed. The prevalence of ODTS-like symptoms (work-related
cough, dyspnoea, or
fever or
chills) was higher for the saw filers than the sawmill referents. After adjustment for age, time spent in present work, smoking and atopy, saw filers had a higher risk for
fever or
chills than the other study groups. When the
cobalt-exposed and unexposed workers were compared by smoking, differences in the prevalence of ODTS-like symptoms were found only for the non-smokers. The
cobalt-exposed workers did not have a higher risk of
hand dermatoses or symptoms of
metal allergy than the unexposed workers. It seems that combined
cobalt and wood dust exposure is associated with ODTS-like symptoms, especially among non-smoking workers.