Metal fume fever

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For at least a century, metal fume fever , zinc fever , foundry fever or foundry fever was the usual term for an evening malaise with chills-like components that could not be explained at the beginning and which afflicted workers who had worked in brass foundries , formerly also known as brass foundries . If the brass melt, especially at the time of casting and at temperatures above 900 ° C, was not protected by a cover on the surface of the melt pool, vaporous zinc escaped from the brass alloy from 907 ° C , which immediately combined with atmospheric oxygen and the workplaces at the furnace and in the mostly "fogged" neighboring sand molding shop.

Zinc fever was perceived as a nuisance, but inevitable, there was also an acquired resistance, and no lasting health damage was reported. The use of a simple respiratory mask also gained acceptance over time and reduced the zinc exposure of the foundrymen.

Continuing the hours to a few days, comparable with the flu symptoms (fever, malaise, discomfort in the respiratory tract ) are today inhalation metalloxidhaltiger aerosols ( vapors or smoke observed), so the arc welding ( copper , zinc) and working with cadmium , Magnesium or chromium . Since - with the exception of the toxic cadmium - no permanent damage is to be expected, the symptoms are relevant to occupational medicine , but not an occupational disease that is subject to compensation .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sieglinde Schwarze, Gisela Zimmer, Wolfgang Scheuermann: Original exam questions GK 3. Occupational medicine, forensic medicine, social medicine: With commentary and learning texts . 1st edition. Georg Thieme, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-13-112816-X , p. 504 ( online in Google Book Search).

literature

  • P. Kaye, H. Young, I. O'Sullivan: Metal fume fever: a case report and review of the literature. In: Emerg Med J. 19 (3), 2002 May, pp. 268-269. PMID 11971851
  • P. Kelleher, K. Pacheco, LS Newman: Inorganic dust pneumonias: the metal-related parenchymal disorders. In: Environ Health Perspect . 108 Suppl 4, 2000 Aug, pp. 685-696. Review. PMID 10931787