Forced Expiratory Volume, Forced Vital Capacity and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate in Workers of Power Generating Stations

Air pollutants can change the compositions and functions of respiratory epithelia. This study was aimed at assessing some pulmonary functions in workers of Power Generating Stations. Four hundred and forty individuals made up of 228 workers of gas-fired power plant stations and 212 non-power generating station workers volunteered for this study. A detailed questionnaire was carefully filled by volunteers and those that met the inclusion criteria had their anthropometric data measured and recorded. Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV₁), Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) were measured. Results were presented in Mean ± Standard Error of Mean (SEM) and analysed appropriately using Microsoft excel 2010 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20. Results showed a statistically significant decrease in FEV₁  1.91 ± 0.07L, FVC which was 1.21 ± 0.02L and PEFR which was 3.42 ± 0.12L/min and of test group compared to that of the control (P<0.05) which was 3.45 ± 0.08L, 3.84 ± 0.05L and 5.22 ± 0.03L/min for  FEV₁, FVC and PEFR respectively. In conclusion, exposure to gas emission from the natural gas-fired power plant on workers of power generating stations reduced lung function.

Keywords: forced expiratory volume, forced vital capacity, one second, peak expiratory flow rate