Neurological and neurophysiological examinations of workers occupationally exposed to organic solvent mixtures used in the paint and varnish production

Abstract

The aim of this work was to examine the nervous system of workers chronically exposed to mixtures of organic solvent at concentrations within or slightly exceeding the MAC values, used in the manufacture of paints and lacquers. The tests were performed on a group of 175 people, 107 men aged 22-59 (x = 41.25), and 68 women aged 20-55 (x = 38.62). The period of employment was x = 17.34 years and cumulative dose index 16.97 for males; for females, the corresponding values were x = 14.75 and x = 11.42, respectively. The control group included 175 people (107 men and 68 women) not exposed to chemicals matched according to sex, age, and work shift distribution. The neurological examinations included subjective and objective examinations of the nervous system, electroencephalographic (EEG) and visual evoked potential (VEP) evaluations. The assessment of organic solvent exposure was performed according to the method described in PN89/Z-04008/07, and the solvent mixtures were shown to contain xylenes, ethyltoluenes, trimethylbenzenes, propylbenzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, aliphatic hydrocarbons and the components of painter's naphtha. The most frequent complaints among the exposed males included headache, vertigo, concentration difficulties, sleep disorders, sleepiness during the day, increased emotional irritability, mood swings with a tendency to anxiety. The objective neurological examinations did not reveal organic lesions in the central or peripheral nervous systems. Generalised and paroxysmal changes were most common recordings in the abnormal EEG. VEP examinations revealed abnormalities, primarily in the latency of the response evoked. The results of this study suggest that exposures to concentrations within MAC values, or below 1.5 of the MAC values of organic solvents mixtures used in the manufacture of paints and lacquers produce subclinical health effect in the nervous system.