{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T16:34:51Z","timestamp":1783701291260,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Korean Society of Occupational & Environmental Medicine","content-domain":{"domain":["aoemj.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Ann Occup Environ Med"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Lithium hydroxide (LiOH) is increasingly used in electric vehicle battery production; however, its health effects in the work environment remain underreported. This study characterizes the acute health effects on workers following accidental occupational exposure to LiOH at a Korean lithium plant in March 2024.Methods: We analyzed health effects from two LiOH exposure accidents on March 6 and 9, 2024, involving 50\u2013100 kg powder spills. Two datasets were examined: acute symptoms from 115 workers who visited hospitals immediately after exposure, and a symptom severity survey from 474 workers conducted 2 weeks post-exposure. Workers were stratified by distance from the leak source (&lt;10 m, 10\u201320 m, &gt;20 m) and respirator use. Univariate general linear modeling was applied to analyze the relationship between symptom occurrence and both the distance from the exposure source and respirator use.Results: Among workers visiting hospitals immediately, local irritation symptoms predominated: sore throat (58.3%), cough (28.7%), and skin dermatoses (17.4%). Systemic symptoms included headache (45.2%), nausea (18.3%), chest tightness (12.2%), and dizziness (9.6%). Two-week follow-up revealed overall symptom improvement; severe cough decreased from 22.2% to 10.1%. However, despite general improvement, a significant portion of workers reported persistent respiratory issues, including cough (28.7%) and sputum production (31.0%). Symptom severity showed a significant dose-response relationship with proximity to the source (p &lt; 0.001). While respirator use offered initial protection (p = 0.021), this effect was not statistically significant after 2 weeks.Conclusions: Occupational LiOH exposure caused acute irritation and systemic symptoms, demonstrating immediate tissue damage consistent with its alkalinity and systemic toxicity upon absorption. As lithium battery production expands globally, these results emphasize the necessity for developing specific occupational exposure limits and medical surveillance guidelines for lithium compounds.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.35371\/aoem.2026.38.e6","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T08:45:21Z","timestamp":1773650721000},"page":"e6","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.35371\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Acute health effects of accidental exposure to lithium hydroxide at a battery material production plant"],"prefix":"10.35371","volume":"38","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7017-2623","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Chul Gab","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-3796-7863","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Soo Hyeong","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-2171-0526","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ji Won","family":"Kang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-6466-8084","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Si Woo","family":"Hwang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-0177-1194","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hyeo Na","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-2400-8583","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hyeon Kyeong","family":"Ko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"20800","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/min10070604"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1149\/ma2016-02\/3\/469"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2023.e23968"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.29332"},{"key":"ref5","volume-title":"","author":"Judkins","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2174\/1871527318666191114095249"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1124\/pharmrev.120.000007"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ph18040467"},{"key":"ref9","volume-title":"","author":"Salisbury","year":"1981"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/15287398609530899"},{"key":"ref11","first-page":"37","author":"Frolova","year":"1993","journal-title":"Med Tr Prom Ekol"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecoenv.2008.02.026"},{"key":"ref13","volume-title":"","author":"Lagerkvist","year":"2002"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5021\/ad.21.191"},{"key":"ref15","first-page":"143","volume-title":"","author":"Lam","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref16","volume-title":"","author":"Bauer","year":"2013"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/mjt.0b013e3182204feb"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/jom.0000000000000787"}],"container-title":["Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/\/upload\/pdf\/aoem-2026-38-e6.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.aoemj.org\/journal\/view.php?doi=10.35371\/aoem.2026.38.e6","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"http:\/\/\/upload\/pdf\/aoem-2026-38-e6.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T08:45:22Z","timestamp":1773650722000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.aoemj.org\/journal\/view.php?doi=10.35371\/aoem.2026.38.e6"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]]},"references-count":18,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.35371\/aoem.2026.38.e6","relation":{},"ISSN":["2052-4374"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2052-4374","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-08-13","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-01-30","order":1,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-02-09","order":2,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}