Background: While there are previous reports describing injuries to adolescents in the workplace, there has been scant attention given to toxic substance exposures among such injuries. There is currently no tracking of such injuries by federal agencies such as the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) or through other regionalized databases. Yet low skill, entry-level jobs are those most commonly secured by adolescents; and such jobs pose a particular hazard of toxic exposure due to the frequent use of cleaning compounds, solvents, and/or paints.

Objective:To analyze the types and severity of adolescent occupational toxic exposures

Design:Secondary analysis of the telephone call database at a regional poison control center

Setting: Massachusetts Poison Control Center (PCC) poisoning consultations between 1993-96

Subjects:Children <20 yrs of age with toxic exposures reportedly occurring at the worksite

Results:Out of 5916 occupational toxic exposures recorded by the PCC over the 4 years of study, 223 incidents (3.8%) involved adolescents between 14-19 yrs of age (median age=17 yrs; 66% males). The most frequently involved toxins included: cleaning agents (29.5%), paints & glues (9.1%), caustics (9.1%), hydrocarbons (8.7%), bleaches (8.3%), and automotive supplies(4.6%). Exposure routes included: inhalations (30.4%), ocular (25.3%), dermal(22.6%), ingestions (18.3%). Worksites were identified in 75 (33.6%) cases;they most commonly included: restaurants (29.3%), automotive services(17.3%), general retail stores (12.0%), health services (9.3%), recreation(8%) and food stores (6.7%).Over 59% (132 exposures) of these cases were triaged to a health care facility for evaluation; four adolescents were hospitalized. Thirty-three of 223 incidents (14.8%) were coded as resulting in moderate injuries. The majority of these involved caustics or cleaning supplies. There were no deaths.

Conclusions: Adolescent occupational exposures to toxins are an under-recognized injury category. Further studies are needed to outline the scope of the problem, to analyze the impact of such injuries on health resource expenditures, and to explore the use and effectiveness of preventive strategies that might improve safe handling of chemicals by adolescent workers.