Does environmental exposure to manganese pose a health risk to healthy adults?
Manganese is an essential nutrient that also may be toxic at high concentrations. Subjects chronically exposed to manganese-laden dust in industrial settings develop neuropsychological changes that resemble Parkinson's disease. Manganese has been proposed as an additive to gasoline (as a replacement for the catalytic properties of lead), which has generated increased research interest in the possible deleterious effects of environmental exposure to manganese. Low-level exposure to manganese has been implicated in neurologic changes, decreased learning ability in school-aged children, and increased propensity for violence in adults. However, a thorough review of the literature shows very weak cause-and-effect relationships that do not justify concern about environmental exposure to manganese for most of the North American population.
Finley
John W
JW
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA.
D001519:Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008345:Manganese / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D020149:Manganese Poisoning / Q000150:complications*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008345:Manganese