OCCUPATIONAL ASTHMA AND OTHER NONASBESTOS OCCUPATIONAL RESPIRATORY-DISEASES NOTIFIED BETWEEN 1993 AND 1996

Aim. To review notifications to the Occupational Safety and Health Ser vice of the Department of Labour Notifiable Occupational Disease Syste m since its inception until June 1996. Methods. All notifications rece ived for non asbestos related occupational respiratory disease were re viewed to evaluate the outcome of the notification and to identify the causative agent where possible. Results. There were 277 cases notifie d and investigated including worksite investigations. Of these 73 case s were confirmed as having occupational asthma, 35 by the asthma valid ation panel. Nineteen cases of other occupational respiratory disease were notified of which 11 were reviewed by the panel. Extrinsic allerg ic alveolitis secondary to organic dusts was the most common such noti fication. Conclusions. Isocyanates are well recognised as a cause of o ccupational asthma in New Zealand. It is suspected that occupational a sthma and other occupational respiratory diseases are poorly notified to this system. Better mechanisms are needed to identify occupational causes of respiratory (and other) disease.