We examined eighteen workers (three women, 15 men) in a pentachlorophenol (PCP) processing factory, with a mean activity of 12 years. PCP in blood and urine samples was analyzed by gas chromatography. To evaluate the peripheral nervous system the maximal motor as well as sensory nerve conduction velocities of the ulnar and/or median nerve were measured. The PCP-levels in plasma ranged between 0.02 and 1.5 ng/l, median 0.25 ng/l, and in urine between 13 and 1,224 micrograms/l, median 112 micrograms/l, or between 11 and 2,111 micrograms/g creatinine, median 111 micrograms/g creatinine. The median values of the neurophysiological parameters showed a mild degree of slowing in the PCP-collective. In the case of the sensory nerve conduction velocities, this decrease was significant. A dose-effect relationship between internal PCP-load and the different nerve conduction velocities could not be demonstrated. The individual evaluation of the toxicological and neurophysiological results gave hints that in some cases decreased nerve conduction velocity is caused by chronic exposure to PCP.
SummaryThe content of Cadmium (Cd) in the human placenta was determined by AAS as '60 g/placenta We analyzed a total of 179 placentas from normal hospital deliveries, premature births and abortions The samples came from 3 different regions of West-Germany with a varying stage of industrialisation (Rhine-Ruhr-Area, Frankonian District, Bavarian Forest) There were significant differences in the mean Cd-content in the placentas coming from the Rhine-Ruhr-Area and those from the Bavarian Forest.No relationship was found between the placental Cd-concentration and the duration of pregnancy and the age of the mothers respectively.The evaluated concentrations are compared with those found in other publications and the usefulness of the placenta as an indicator of ecological burdens is discussed.
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