Residual Neurologic Deficits 30 Years After Occupational Exposure to Elemental Mercury

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cragle D ; Fidler, Anne T. ; Gerr F ; Green RC ; Letz R ; Watkins J
• Description:
  A battery of tests of peripheral and central nervous system function was administered to 205 former workers of a large heavy industrial plant, 104 of whom were previously exposed to inorganic mercury. The mean age of those examined was 71 years. Exposed subjects had participated in a urine-mercury exposure monitoring program during the time of operation of a process that required the use of mercury and its subsequent cleanup. Mercury exposure had been high (mean peak urine mercury concentration was >600 mu g/l) and had ended 30 years or more prior to the investigation. Peripheral nerve function outcomes that were statistically significantly associated with cumulative mercury exposure after controlling for covariates included classification as having peripheral neuropathy, peroneal motor nerve conduction velocity, ulnar motor nerve conduction velocity, and peroneal motor nerve F-wave latency. Quantitative assessment of resting tremor was nearly significantly associated with cumulative mercury exposure (p=0.07). Among tests of central nervous system function, results of the Handeye Coordination test were significantly associated with cumulative mercury exposure after controlling for covariates. Cumulative mercury exposure was not observed to be associated with a quantitative measure of dementia or with a number of cognitive neurobehavioral test outcomes. The statistically significant associations with mercury exposure were observed in spite of greater mortality among the exposed group than the unexposed group. These results suggest that substantial occupational mercury exposure can have long-term adverse effects on the peripheral nervous system detectable decades after cessation of exposure. Such long-term adverse effects were not observed for a measure of dementia or other measures of cognitive function. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Chemistry Chemistry, Analytic Hypersensitivity Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Age-factors Analytical-chemistry Analytical-methods Analytical-processes Brain-disorders Brain-function Chemical-deposition Chemical-hypersensitivity Mathematical-models Neurological-system Neuropathology Neurophysiological-effects Neurophysiology Neurotoxic-effects Neurotoxicology Neurotoxins

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• ISSN:
  0161-813X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Arkansas ; Georgia ; Massachusetts ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Tennessee
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  459-474
• Volume:
  21
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032341
• Citation:
  Neurotoxicology 2000 Aug; 21(4):459-474
• Contact Point Address:
  R Letz, Emory Univ, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral Sciences & Health Education, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322
• CAS Registry Number:
  Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Neurotoxicology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b3479770266bc3faaae3c6501362b19de27e05ee689a6616a04cb6004a69be34d4eda2514f07575d67225ec0fe1ddb7d7b0cc05068863ffb8f4a156b71ed1e82
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186359/cdc_186359_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.27 MB ]