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KMID : 0381319900290040155
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Korean Journal of Occupational Health
1990 Volume.29 No. 4 p.155 ~ p.163
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Neurotoxicological Study on the Workers Occupationally Exposed to Styrene
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Abstract
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Body sway measurements were carried out for an evaluation of equilibrium function on 100 Finnish workers with or without application of rubber foam on the stable platform and/or with application of vibrator on the subject´s calf muscle and/or with eyes closed for increasing sensitivity. Finger tapping tests, auditory, visual and associative reaction time tests, and warm and cool tests of hand and foot were also carried out. The workers have been occupationally exposed to varying concentrations of styrene in the reinforced plastic industries. The range of their 8hr time-weighted average concentration of styrene exposure(STA) was 29.5±38.2(0.4-183.0) ppm, and the urine mandelic acid concentration (MAU) measured on the day befor body sway examinations was 1.5±2.9(0.2-13.8)?M/1.
No significant correlation was found between STA and body sway variables. However, MAU, age, and alcohol consumption per year showed statistically significant correlations with several modified body sway variables. The significant correlation coefficients between some of modified body sway variables and MAU were due to the group of workers with both high MAU and STA higher than 50 ppm. This finding suggests that occupational styrene exposure can affect the human equilibrium system which may be attributable to the delayed excretion of mandelic acid, and that further study on this hypothesis is recommended.
Urine mandelic acid was significantly correlated with the response to the warm test of foot. Age was significantly correlated with frequency of finger tapping, responses to the three kinds of reaction time tests, and to the warm and cool tests. This study also disclosed that MAU was associated with alcohol consumption per year.
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