Neurobehavioral Effects of Occupational Exposure to Low-Level Organic Solvents among Taiwanese Workers in Paint Factories

Tsai, Song-Yen; Chen, Jong-Dar; Chao, Wen-Ying; Wang, Jung‐Der

doi:10.1006/enrs.1997.3704

Cited by 67 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Digit Symbol test, which is associated with both learning ability and perceptual motor function, has been reported to be associated with solvent exposure previously. 7-10 Slower reaction times and impaired memory were also reported in carpet layers, painters, and car painters, 6,8,26,27 who were exposed to solvents in their occupations. However, previous studies generally assessed the associations between the functions and the exposure to organic solvent mixtures rather than specific chemical components of the solvent.…”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 83%

Neurobehavioral Effects of Occupational Exposure to Organic Solvents Among Male Printing Workers in Hong Kong

Song¹,

Yu²,

Lao³

2013

Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health

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The objective of this study was to investigate the neurobehavioral effects of long-term occupational exposure to low levels of organic solvent among male printing workers in Hong Kong. A total of 115 printing workers exposed to organic solvents were recruited from the printing divisions of 3 printing factories, and 101 workers from the binding divisions of the same factories constituted the comparison group. Active and passive samplings were used to assess the occupational exposures to solvents. The World Health Organization Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery (WHO-NCTB) was applied to assess the neurobehavioral functions. Both active and passive sampling results showed that solvent levels were higher in the printing divisions than the binding divisions. The scores of Digit Symbol and Pursuit Aiming were poorer among workers in the printing divisions (all p values < .05). There were no significant differences found between the 2 divisions for other WHO-NCTB tests. The scores of Digit Symbol and Pursuit Aiming showed exposure-response relationship with various solvent exposure indices. Prolonged occupational exposure to low levels of organic solvents was associated with adverse neurobehavioral effects among male printing workers in Hong Kong.

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Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 83%

Neurobehavioral Effects of Occupational Exposure to Organic Solvents Among Male Printing Workers in Hong Kong

Song¹,

Yu²,

Lao³

2013

Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health

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“…Although most of the neurotoxic effects associated with organic solvent mixtures including fuel and constituents of fuel, have been observed among highly exposed painters, carpet layers, printers and jet fuel workers (Baker and Fine, 1986;Baker, 1994;Broadwell et al, 1995;Escalona et al, 1995;Tsai et al, 1997), workers, such as fishers with potentially lower exposure may also experience neurotoxic effects. The study of health effects associated with low-level occupational exposure to fuel presents methodological challenges because it is difficult to determine an appropriate unexposed comparison group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal exposure to benzene from fuel emissions among commercial fishers: comparison of two-stroke, four-stroke and diesel engines

Kirrane

Loomis

Egeghy

et al. 2006

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Commercial fishers are exposed to unburned hydrocarbon vapors and combustion products present in the emissions from their boat engines. The objective of this study was to measure personal exposure to benzene as a marker of fuel exposure, and to predict exposure levels across categories of carbureted two-stroke, four-stroke and diesel engines. A self-monitoring approach, employing passive monitors, was used to obtain measurements of personal exposure to benzene over time. Mixed-effect linear regression models were used to predict exposure levels, identify significant effects and determine restricted maximum likelihood estimates for within-and between-person variance components. Significant fixed effects for engine type and refueling a car or truck were identified. After controlling for refueling, predicted benzene exposure levels to fishers on boats equipped with two-stroke, four-stroke and diesel engines were 58.4, 38.9 and 15.7 mg/m 3 , respectively. The logged within-person variance component was 1.43, larger than the between-person variance component of 1.13, indicating that the total variation may be attributable to monitor placement, environmental conditions and other factors that change over time as well as differences between individual work practices. The health consequences of exposure to marine engine emissions are not known. The predicted levels are well below those at which health effects have been attributed, however.

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“…In many cases, poorer performance on certain cognitive tests was predicted by the interaction of career exposure and acute exposure. Tsai et al (1997) reported that Chinese paint workers, chronically exposed to toluene, xylene, n-hexane, methyl isobutyl ketone, and n-butyl acetate, exhibited significantly prolonged response latencies on the tests of continuous performance, pattern comparison, and pattern memory. Ng et al (1990), examining 78 printers, paint sprayers, and paint production workers, reported excess of symptoms of fatigue, irritability, depression, poor memory, sleep, consistent with reduced performance on tests of psychomotor function (choice reaction test and digit symbol) and auditory memory (digit span and associate learning).…”

Section: Effects Of Chronic Hydrocarbon Exposures On Human Learningmentioning

confidence: 98%

A Review of the Neurotoxicity Risk of Selected Hydrocarbon Fuels

Ritchie¹

2001

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B

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Over 1.3 million civilian and military personnel are occupationally exposed to hydrocarbon fuels, emphasizing gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, or kerosene. These exposures may occur acutely or chronically to raw fuel, vapor, aerosol, or fuel combustion exhaust by dermal, respiratory inhalation, or oral ingestion routes, and commonly occur concurrently with exposure to other chemicals and stressors. Hydrocarbon fuels are complex mixtures of 150-260+ aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon compounds containing varying concentrations of potential neurotoxicants including benzene, n-hexane, toluene, xylenes, naphthalene, and certain n-C9-C12 fractions (n-propylbenzene, trimethylbenzene isomers). Due to their natural petroleum base, the chemical composition of different hydrocarbon fuels is not defined, and the fuels are classified according to broad performance criteria such as flash and boiling points, complicating toxicological comparisons. While hydrocarbon fuel exposures occur typically at concentrations below permissible exposure limits for their constituent chemicals, it is unknown whether additive or synergistic interactions may result in unpredicted neurotoxicity. The inclusion of up to six performance additives in existing fuel formulations presents additional neurotoxicity challenge. Additionally, exposures to hydrocarbon fuels, typically with minimal respiratory or dermal protection, range from weekly fueling of personal automobiles to waist-deep immersion of personnel in raw fuel during maintenance of aircraft fuel tanks. Occupational exposures may occur on a near daily basis for from several months to over 20 yr. A number of published studies have reported acute or persisting neurotoxic effects from acute, subchronic, or chronic exposure of humans or animals to hydrocarbon fuels, or to certain constituent chemicals of these fuels. This review summarizes human and animal studies of hydrocarbon fuel-induced neurotoxicity and neurobehavioral consequences. It is hoped that this review will support ongoing attempts to review and possibly revise exposure standards for hydrocarbon fuels.

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Neurobehavioral Effects of Occupational Exposure to Low-Level Organic Solvents among Taiwanese Workers in Paint Factories

Cited by 67 publications

References 27 publications

Neurobehavioral Effects of Occupational Exposure to Organic Solvents Among Male Printing Workers in Hong Kong

Neurobehavioral Effects of Occupational Exposure to Organic Solvents Among Male Printing Workers in Hong Kong

Personal exposure to benzene from fuel emissions among commercial fishers: comparison of two-stroke, four-stroke and diesel engines

A Review of the Neurotoxicity Risk of Selected Hydrocarbon Fuels

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