The psychological effects of chronic exposure to white spirit in rubber industry workers

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of chronic occupational exposure to white spirit on the efficiency of workers' intellectual and psychomotor functions. The exposed group consisted of 226 rubber industry workers while the control group comprised 102 hosiery plant workers. The analysis of results was aimed at the determination of exposure effects depending on the duration of exposure and age of persons examined. It has been revealed that chronic exposure to white spirit, at a concentration close to the hygienic standard, induces the deterioration of some intellectual and psychomotor functions in the exposed persons, depending on the duration of exposure and age of the exposed subjects. Among the variables presented in the study, several individual functions including: perception and reproduction of visual material; projection of spatial relationships; concentration; time of simple and choice reaction; speed and coordination of hand movements were found the most effective in contrasting the exposed group from the control.