Machinists are usually well aware of the safety hazards they face working on moving equipment. Less well known are the health hazards associated with the use of machining fluids. For example, in 1981 almost 40% of the workers at a large machining plant developed a severe flu-like illness caused by microbes that grew in the coolants or parts washers of one department and were spread throughout the plant by airborne oil mist. The microbes were related to those that cause Legionnaire's Disease. Since 1992, there have been at least eight recorded outbreaks of Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis.

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