Methyl chloride and diazepam effects on performance.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Croxton JS ; Phipps, Frederick C. ; Putz-Anderson, Vernon ; Setzer JV
• Description:
  Behavioral effects from ingestion of diazepam (439145) and inhalation of methyl-chloride (74873) were investigated in humans. A total of 17 female and 39 male subjects ranging in age from 18 to 32, with a mean of 22 years, participated in the study. They were exposed to methyl-chloride at 0, 100, and 200 parts per million (ppm) for 3 hours and to diazepam at 0 and 10 milligrams. Each participant was tested in an environmental room for alertness during 5 hours of testing. Three behavioral tests used were visual vigilance, dual task, and time discrimination. Breath and blood samples were taken at various intervals and tested. Degree of impairment on behavioral tests was expressed as the percentage of change between pretreatment and subsequent testing period during exposure. Large interindividual differences in breath and blood levels were found for methyl-chloride. The control group showed an average decline of 27.3 percent in performance between pre control and control test periods. Diazepam treatment showed an average 10.1 percent impairment in task performance. Treatment of 200ppm methyl- chloride showed an average of 4 percent performance impairment and combined diazepam and methyl-chloride treatment showed an average impairment of 13.5 percent. Through univariate analysis, only threshold performance of vigilance test scores and response block measures of time discrimination were sensitive indicators of methyl- chloride impairment. In contrast, diazepam had a significant effect on all test indices except the response block measures of time discrimination. The authors conclude that potential hazards from combined central nervous system depressants can affect alertness and coordination of exposed workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Chemistry Hazardous Substances Lung Occupational Health Respiratory Hypersensitivity Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Alertness Behavioral-testing Behavioral Test Biological-effects Chemical-properties Diazepam Exposure-levels Lethal-concentrations Lung-function NIOSH-Author Physiological-response Pulmonary-function Respiratory-hypersensitivity Toxic-effects Toxicology

  More +
• ISSN:
  0355-3140
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  8-13
• Volume:
  7
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00158236
• Citation:
  Scand J Work Environ Health 1981 Mar; 7(1):8-13
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr V Putz-Anderson, Robert A Taft Laboratories, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
• CAS Registry Number:
  Diazepam (CAS RN 439-14-5) ; Methyl chloride (CAS RN 74-87-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7a6dc9eff7af53d1cea37caaf334de877ad96ec34b46680b96a234a4204a48ef34ee136e83aee912dc6cba50f6dc902133d7a9631c9aee4a862081749c480dc4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/184956/cdc_184956_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.94 MB ]