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Work-Related Asthma Prevention Program

About Work-Related Asthma

Asthma is a lung disease. People with asthma sometimes have a hard time breathing, wheezing, chest tightness, and cough.

Asthma has increased in the U.S. and in California in the last decade. It is estimated that workplace exposures are responsible for 15-30% of all new asthma cases among adults in the U.S. Work-related asthma includes new cases caused by exposures at work, as well as asthma that is made worse by conditions at work.

There are over 320 substances known to cause new asthma in people who did not have it before. Sometimes people can work around a substance for many years without a problem. They can later become sensitized, or allergic, to the substance and get new asthma. Also, any irritating substance or common allergen can worsen asthma symptoms in a person who already has asthma.

Fact Sheets & Booklets

Work-Related Asthma: What You Should Know (PDF) | Spanish (PDF) | Chinese (PDF) | Korean (PDF) | Tagalog (PDF) | Vietnamese (PDF) – fact sheets, June 2014
Work-Related Asthma: Findings from Statewide Tracking (PDF) | Spanish | Chinese | Korean | Tagalog | Vietnamese - fact sheet, 2019

Guidance & Reports Produced by the Work-Related Asthma Prevention Program (WRAPP)

Asthma in California: A Surveillance Report – Chapter 5: Work-related Asthma (PDF) | executive summary (PDF) | full report (PDF) (5.9MB, 194 pages) May 2013

The Strategic Plan for Asthma in California, 2015-2019 (PDF)

Webinars, Trainings, & Videos

Video: Healthy Cleaning and Asthma-Safer Schools – October 2014
Green Cleaning Webinar – webinar sponsored by Labor Occupational Health Program's School Action for Safety and Health (SASH) program, July 2013

Journal Articles

Fragrances and work-related asthma–California surveillance data, 1993–2012 – journal article abstract, 2017
Isocyanates and Work-Related Asthma: Findings From California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey, 1993–2008 - journal article, 2015
Work-Related Asthma — 22 States, 2012 – MMWR report, 2015
Gender Differences in Work-Related Asthma: Surveillance Data from California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey, 1993-2008 – journal article abstract, 2014
State-Based, Work-Related Asthma Surveillance Data Online – MMWR announcement, 2012
Work-Related Asthma — 38 States and District of Columbia, 2006–2009 – MMWR report, 2012
Primary Prevention of Occupational Asthma: identifying and controlling exposures to asthma-causing agents – journal article abstract, 2008
The Proportion of Self-Reported Asthma Associated with Work in Three States: California, Massachusetts, and Michigan, 2001 – journal article abstract, 2006
A Descriptive Study of Work-Aggravated Asthma – journal article abstract, 2004
Processes of Care for Individuals with Work-Related Asthma – journal article abstract, 2004
Work-Related Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome – Cases from Surveillance in Selected U.S. States – journal article abstract, 2003
Physician Reports of Work-Related Asthma in California, 1993-1996 – journal article abstract, 2001
Surveillance of Work-Related Asthma in Selected U.S. States 1993-1995 – MMWR report, 1999

Newsletters & Announcements

Work-Related Asthma in the ER - OHB newsletter, May 2019
Disinfectants Can Cause Asthma - OHB newsletter, May 2017
California Workers Get Asthma From Their Jobs – OHB newsletter, May 2013

Additional Work-Related Asthma Resources

CDC/NIOSH – work-related asthma and allergies page
Association of Occupational & Environmental Clinics (AOEC) – searchable database of work-related asthma-causing substances
American Lung Association – work-related asthma information
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology – fact sheet on work-related asthma
Michigan work-related asthma – web site
California Breathing – projects and resources for addressing asthma in California

General Asthma Resources

Laws & Regulations Relevant to Work-Related Asthma Prevention

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