Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-085-1757: Everglades National Park; Everglades, Florida

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chrislip, David ; Fidler, Anne T. ; McConnell, Robert S.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Adverse health effects from exposure to N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (134623) (DEET), an insect repellant, in employees of Everglades National Park, Florida were investigated in response to a request from the National Park Service. Employees had expressed concern about its use, and there were anecdotal reports of confusion and abnormal sweating. Approximately 155 workers were employed and would be expected to use DEET from April through October. Initial study included a self administered questionnaire (143 employees) and urinalysis (20 employees) by high pressure liquid chromatography. Reported DEET use correlated well with urine levels. Neurobehavioral analysis showed significant correlations between DEET exposure and affective symptoms, insomnia, muscle cramps, and urinary hesitation. Neurologic symptoms and skin rashes and blisters were anecdotally reported by workers. A follow up survey for pre (March) and post (August) exposure times included questionnaires and neuroperformance testing
  
  77 workers participated in both time segments. Initial neurologic symptoms were not confirmed
  
  however, impaired cognitive functioning and daytime sleepiness increased post exposure. The authors conclude that skin rashes, daytime sleepiness, and impaired cognitive function are significantly associated with DEET exposure. Since a safe alternative is not available, it is recommended that exposure be minimized by using lower concentrations and making use of protective clothing.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Insecticides Mental Health Nervous System Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Skin Skin Diseases
• Keywords:
  Clinical-symptoms DEET Diethyltoluamide Exposure-levels Hazard-Confirmed HETA-83-085-1757 Humans Insect Repellant Mental-processes N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide Nervous-system-disorders Neurobehavioral Effects NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 4 Skin-disorders Sleep Disturbance Urinary Dysfunction

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA830851757
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  109 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Smallwood, Anthony W. ; Cherniack, Martin ; Doren, Bob ; Coleman, Marion
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00167881
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB87-189270
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 83-085-1757, 1986 Dec ; :1-103
• CAS Registry Number:
  N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide (CAS RN 134-62-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4feb7400873868b3c569f8264486df6e96d74aace19e552c3ebcf3e802ad24f29748be33edce8ef0c23a6bc6e12a909fd34033bafe118f171fcdf97ce5be63a9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172130/cdc_172130_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.40 MB ]