US EPA

4822567 

Technical Report 

Health Hazard Evaluation Report No. HETA-81-040-1315, Dole Pineapple Corporation, Lanai, Hawaii 

Coye, MJ; Albrecht, WB; Whorton, D; Morgan, R 

1983 

NIOSH 

HETA-81-040-1315 

An evaluation of the residual health effects of exposure to dibromochloropropane (96128) (DBCP) was conducted among the workers at a plantation of the Dole Pineapple Company (SIC-0179) on the island of Lanai, Hawaii in February 1981. The request for an evaluation was made by the workers out of concern for possible health effects resulting from exposure to DBCP which occurred 6 months earlier. Only a medical survey was conducted as the company was no longer using DBCP. Thirty exposed and 31 nonexposed workers were interviewed, had physical examinations, and gave semen samples for sperm counts and morphology studies. The median sperm count of the exposed and nonexposed workers was almost identical. No significant differences in sperm morphology and cumulative sperm count were seen between the two groups. There was no correlation between the frequency of oligospermia and either DBCP exposure or length of employment in the pineapple industry. The authors conclude that no adverse reactions occurred from exposure to DBCP, although the representativeness of the participants in the survey is uncertain. There are no recommendations since DBCP is no longer used at the plantation.