%0 Journal Article
%T Can air pollution affect tear film stability? a cross-sectional study in the aftermath of an explosion accident
%A Bente E Moen
%A D Norb£¿ck
%A G Wieslander
%A JV Bakke
%A N Mager£¿y
%A JT Granslo
%A £¿ Irgens
%A M Br£¿tveit
%A BE Hollund
%A T Aasen
%J BMC Public Health
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2458-11-235
%X All persons working or living in an area less than six kilometres from the explosion site were invited to take part in the study together with a similar number of persons matched for age and gender living more than 20 kilometres away. Three groups were established: workers in the explosion area and inhabitants near the explosion area (but not working there) were considered to have been exposed, and inhabitants far away (who did not work in the explosion area) were considered to be unexposed. A total of 734 people were examined, and the response rate was 76 percent. Tear film stability was studied by assessing non-invasive break-up time (NIBUT) using ocular microscopy. In addition Self-reported Break Up Time (SBUT) was assessed by recording the time the subject could keep his or hers eyes open without blinking when watching a fixed point on a wall. Background information was obtained using a questionnaire. Non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney-tests with exact p-values and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed.Both NIBUT and SBUT were shorter among the male exposed workers than among the inhabitants both near and far away from the explosion area. This was also found for SBUT among males in a multiple logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age and smoking.Reduced tear film stability was found among workers in an area where an explosion accident had occurred.On the 24th May 2007, a tank containing contaminated oil exploded and caught fire together with a neighbouring tank in an industrial harbour area on the west coast of Norway. Black smoke spread over an area several hundred metres north of the harbour area, as the wind was blowing in that direction. The fire was completely extinguished the next day. Combustion products from the fire as well as coker gasoline mixed with sulphur products from the tanks caused contamination and an intense smell. The smell affected employees in nearly workplaces nearby and people who lived in houses several kilometres
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/235