San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge Welder Study

Abstract

Professional welders may be at risk for loss of smell function, although such loss seems to be unrelated to neurologic and neuropsychological test performance.

Postnatal Iron Deficiency Alters Brain Development in Piglets

“…A study of professional welders determined that occupational metal exposure is associated with olfactory dysfunction (35). Further, rats fed an ID diet after weaning displayed altered olfactory behavior, including Radial diffusivity (A), mean diffusivity (B), and axial diffusivity (C) of the left hippocampus, right hippocampus, and thalamus of piglets fed ID or CON diet from postnatal day 2 through postnatal day 29 or 30.…”

Influence of Iron Deficiency on Olfactory Behavior in Weanling Rats

“…For example, professional welders who work in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation exhibit significant olfactory dysfunction, typical of that observed in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease [1,2]. Olfactory impairments have been reported in a number of neurodegenerative diseases in addition to Parkinson’s disease, including Alzheimer’s disease, and olfactory deficits suggest an early stage marker for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease [3–12].…”

Odor identification ability and self-reported upper respiratory symptoms in workers at the post-9/11 World Trade Center site

“…Decreased ability to smell, as measured by quantitative tests, is common in highly polluted urban areas (Hudson et al 2006;Calderon-Garciduenas et al 2010;Guarneros et al 2009), as well as in occupational settings where workers are chronically exposed to airborne particulates, metals, and other pollutants (Adams and Crabtree 1961;Ahlstrom et al 1986;Schwartz et al 1989;Lucchini et al 1999;Dalton et al 2003;Antunes et al 2007). While such exposure to airborne toxins is usually reflected in olfactory epithelial damage, damage to other elements of the olfactory pathway can also occur.…”