title: Health effects associated with long-term occupational exposure of employees of a chlor-alkali plant to mercury.
abstract: This study aimed to evaluate possible health effects associated with long-term occupational exposure to low levels of mercury vapors. Forty-six subjects exposed to mercury and 65 healthy unexposed employees were studied. The subjects were administered a questionnaire on experienced symptoms and underwent clinical examinations as well as routine biochemical tests. Atmospheric and urinary concentrations of mercury were measured, too. Environmental concentrations of mercury were estimated to be 3.97 ± 6.28 μg/m(3)  and urinary concentrations of mercury in exposed and referent groups were 34.30 ± 26.77 and 10.15 ± 3.82 μg/dm(3), respectively. Additionally, symptoms such as somatic fatigue, anorexia, loss of memory, erethism, blurred vision and teeth problems were significantly more common among exposed individuals. These observations indicate that occupational exposure to mercury vapors, even at low levels, is likely to be associated with neurological and psychological symptoms.
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Nutrition, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. neghabm@sums.ac.ir
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neghab
authors.forename: Mohamad Amin
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Norouzi
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Choobineh
authors.forename: Mohamad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Kardaniyan
authors.forename: Jafar Hassan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Zadeh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000468:Alkalies / Q000633:toxicity*; D002617:Chemical Industry; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D017606:Chlorine Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000150:complications*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D000468:Alkalies; D017606:Chlorine Compounds