This study suggests that chronic noise exposure increases SBP independently, among male workers.

No abstract

No abstract

Objectives-To evaluate exposure to mixed solvents containing ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate (EGEEA) in shipyard painters, to determine if EGEEA is toxic to the bone marrow. Methods-An industrial hygiene survey was performed to identify exposure to EGEEA of two groups of shipyard painters, a low exposure group (n=30) and a high exposure group (n=27). Urinary ethoxyacetic acid and methyl hippuric acid as well as haemoglobin, packed cell volume, red cell indices, total and diVerential white blood cell counts (WBCs), and platelet count for the shipyard painters and the control subjects were measured. Results-The mean (range) exposure concentration (ppm) to EGEEA in the high and low exposure groups were 3.03 (not detectable to 18.27), 1.76 (not detectable to 8.12), respectively. The concentrations of methyl hippuric acid and ethoxyacetic acid in the high exposure group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The mean WBCs in the high exposure group were significantly lower than in the control group, and a significant proportion, six (11%) of the 57 painters, were leucopenic; none of the controls were aVected. Conclusion-The high rate of possible haematological eVects among shipyard painters and a hygienic evaluation of their working environment in the present study suggests that EGEEA might be toxic to bone marrow. (Occup Environ Med 1999;56:378-382)

Abstracts: This study was conducted to evaluate neurobehavioral changes arising from occupational exposure to organic solvents among shipyard painters and to establish whether a dose-effect relation existed where there was any observed impairment of neurobehavioral performance by running the test of Simple Reaction Time (SRT), Symbol Digit Substitution (SD), and Finger Tapping Speed (FT) with a computer-assisted neurobehavioral test battery. The study group consisted of 180 shipyard painters and 60 reference workers. The workers answered a self-administered questionnaire on occupational, medical history, and demographic characteristics including age, work duration, education level, and quantity and frequency of alcohol and smoking, and performed three psychometric tests on the Korean Computerized Neurobehavioral tests. To estimate cumulative exposure level, samples of ambient air on 61 painters were analyzed using a gas chromatograph. Shipyard painters and the reference group showed significant differences in the results of test of SD, FT of dominant hand, and FT of non-dominant hand. The test results of SD of shipyard painters also showed significant difference by duration of work. This suggests that occupational exposure of organic solvent could induce neurobehavioral changes in the shipyard painters. Therefore an objective neurobehavioral test is recommended on evaluating neurobehavioral performance of longterm solvent-exposed shipyard workers.