Neurobehavioral changes in shoe manufacturing workers.
A study was carried out to evaluate: (a) the value of a cumulative exposure estimate (CEE) calculated from limited information on air concentration; and (b) whether chronic exposure to mixed organic solvents at a shoe manufacturing factory has induced neurobehavioral changes. The Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery was administered to 40 female workers from a shoe manufacturing factory and 28 housekeepers as referents. The airborne concentrations of the solvents as a mixture were 0.46-0.71 at the frame making process and 1.83-2.39 at the adhesive process. Performance was analyzed by three exposure indices: current department, exposure duration, and CEE. The Santa Ana Dexterity test showed statistically significant differences only in CEE. In particular, the group with higher exposures had a significantly poorer performance than the reference group, on preferred hand trials. The results suggested that CEE appeared to be a better indicator of mixed organic solvents exposure, and neurobehavioral changes were associated with CEE over 10 years.
Lee
D H
DH
Department of Preventive Medicine, Kosin College of Medicine, Pusan, Korea.
Park
I G
IG
Kim
J H
JH
Lee
Y H
YH
Kim
D
D
Kang
S K
SK
D000328:Adult; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000506:poisoning*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001519:Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D016272:Occupational Health; D012775:Shoes
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational