Almost one in three Australians will be impacted by a lung condition and occupational lung disease continues to be a significant health issue across the country. Workers in the coal mining industry face increased risks to their lung health, but these conditions are both detectable and largely preventable.
There are 17 substances included in the NSW Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 with the large majority requiring exposed workers to undertake monitoring through specific lung function tests.
The importance of health monitoring becomes apparent when considering the growing awareness of occupational lung disease in industries exposed to hazardous dusts, mist and fumes, among others. The recent changes in work exposure limits for crystalline silica and welding fumes also highlight the importance of controlling these exposures and monitoring health impacts.
Happy Health is an Australian company striving to make preventative health and early detection of disease the standard of care for workers exposed to hazardous substances in the workplace.
Spirometry is a breathing test that is central to most hazardous medicals. It is used to aid diagnosis and monitor lung conditions or detect a change in lung function.
Hazardous Substances Lead for Happy Health in Singleton, Dr Lori Benton said its strongly recommended workers get more than just a baseline test for hazardous chemicals, they need to know why and where it’s come from so they can look after their long-term health.
“Spirometry results are best interpreted in the context of the individual and their signs, symptoms, exposure history and previous medical diagnoses. The snapshot of spirometry is a good start, however we need to understand what has caused any abnormalities that have been detected.
“When someone has an abnormality, we want to understand what that abnormality is and whether it could potentially be impacted by the proposed workplace exposures.
“It’s important to have a spirometry baseline, so you can compare it in the future. We always do comparative analysis whenever a worker returns with us so we can compare the results to see if there’s been any deterioration.
“Alternatively, there might be an issue picked up at that baseline before they even enter into the industry, and that’s important too to know if there’s something in that person’s medical history that we need to understand further before we put them in an environment that might impact their health,” Dr Lori explained.
Happy Health recommends further evaluation of abnormal findings through ‘bronchodilator responsiveness testing’ which aims to further define the nature of the underlying abnormality.
Previously, this stage of testing was referred back to the GP, however Happy Health now recommends this stage of testing as standard for all abnormal spirometry findings and offer this testing as part of the initial consultation.
In certain cases where the abnormality is persistent and remains undefined, a third tier of testing may be recommended. This is the Pulmonary function test/DLCO testing and a worker may be recommended to return on a separate day to complete this testing. This will be available at Happy Health from early May.
“We prioritise promoting health, preventing illness and detecting early changes. We compare an individual’s current results with previous findings to detect early changes in the health status,” said Dr Lori.
“We don’t believe in doing a medical for the sake of doing a medical. We critically analyse the information and put that in the context of the worker and their environment to make sure we’re providing them with an accurate and genuine recommendation. If someone has an abnormal spirometry, we care about why.”
