Owing to research the effects of air pollution inside of fishing boats on fishmen we had examined their lung functions and subjective complaints concerned with lung diseases, because we have rather frequently found patients with lung fibrosis and/or lung emphysema among fishmen.
Subjects examined: 243 fishmen in total, among them 177 of hot valve engine ships, included 44 engineers and 38 of them worked over ten years as the engineers, and 66 of Diesel engine ships, included 19 engineers and 15 of them worked over ten years as the engineers.
Complaints surveyed: cough, sputum, shortness of breathing, stridor, and Fletcher's criteria.
Lung functions examined: VC, FEV, MMF, MBC with 13.5L respirometer, Ventilation at rest and with exercise (V_R & V_E) with Scholander's apperatus.
Results obtained: (1) Frequencies of complaints were higher compared with cities employees of Sapporo and Obihiro. (2) Frequency diagnosed as bronchial asthma was 6.1% (13/243) and eight of thirteen asthmatics had worked over ten years as engineers. (3) V_E showed significantly higher value among engineers compared with other workers in ships.