Spirometric Abnormalities Met among Senegalese Workers Exposed to Chlorine Gas

Introduction: Chlorine as a disinfectant has many side effects on respiratory function. This respiratory toxicity may be related to the exposure time. Materials and Methods: Measure the impact of the duration of chlorine gas exposure on the respiratory function of Senegalese workers who work in the national water production factory: Senegalaise Des Eaux (SDE), aged 35-54 years. Twenty-four (24) male subjects exposed to chlorine gas were divided into two groups, one (35-44) and the other (45-54). Clinical examinations were performed on each employee, followed by chest x-rays and spirometry. We included all subjects whose first or last two spirometry results were normal. Results: In the 35-44 years group, 50% of subjects had disturbed spirometry including 41.6% of obstructive syndrome (OS), at the second spirometry and 8.3% had a restrictive syndrome FVC at -25%, at the 3rd spirometry 4/12 had a normal spirometry. The duration of exposure was 10 years. For subjects in 45-54 years, 8/12 had persistent OS or accentuated, then at the 3rd spirometry we had 10 subjects. The duration of exposure was 17.5 years. Conclusion: Compared with (35-44) group, older (45-54) subjects had significant OS, which may be related to duration of exposure.