Acute effects of exposure to hexanal vapors in humans.
OBJECTIVE
n-Hexanal is a major component in emissions from stored wood pellets. The production and use of wood pellets has increased dramatically. Our aim was to evaluate acute health effects of n-hexanal vapors.


METHODS
Twelve healthy volunteers were exposed to 0, 2, and 10 ppm n-hexanal for 2 hours at rest in a balanced order.


RESULTS
Ratings of discomfort in the eyes and nose, solvent smell, and headache increased significantly with the level of exposure. Frequency of blinking was significantly increased at 10 ppm. No effects on pulmonary function and nasal swelling were detected, except a not-significant tendency to increased nasal obstruction at 10 ppm. No clear effects on plasma inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein and interleukin-6) were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Two hours of exposure to n-hexanal results in mild irritation at 10 ppm, with no apparent adversity at 2 ppm.
Ernstgård
Lena
L
Work Environment Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Lena.Ernstgard@ki.se
Iregren
Anders
A
Sjögren
Bengt
B
Svedberg
Urban
U
Johanson
Gunnar
G
D000328:Adult; D000447:Aldehydes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001767:Blinking / Q000187:drug effects; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests
D000447:Aldehydes; D015850:Interleukin-6; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; C010463:n-hexanal