Sequelae of Fume Exposure in Confined Space Welding: A Neurological and Neuropsychological Case Series

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bouchard M ; Bowler RM ; Bowler RP ; Diamond E ; Drezgic M ; Kollerg W ; Mergler D ; Nakagawa S ; Park RM ; Roels HA
• Description:
  Welding fume contains manganese (Mn) which is known to be bio-available to and neurotoxic for the central nervous system. Although an essential metal, Mn overexposure may cause manganism, a parkinsonian syndrome. The present welder study sought to improve the clinical portrait of manganism and to determine dose-effect relationships. The welders were employed in the construction of the new Bay Bridge (San Francisco) and welded in confined spaces for up to 2 years with minimal protection and poor ventilation. Neurological, neuropsychological, neurophysiological, and pulmonary examinations were given to 49 welders. Clinical cases were selected on the basis of apriori defined criteria pertaining to welding history and neurological/neuropsychological features. Among the 43 eligible welders, 11 cases of manganism were identified presenting with the following symptoms: sleep disturbance, mood changes, bradykinesia, headaches, sexual dysfunction, olfaction loss, muscular rigidity, tremors, hallucinations, slurred speech, postural instability, monotonous voice, and facial masking. Significant associations between outcome variables and cumulative exposure index (CEI) or blood Mn (MnB) were obtained with CEI for variables implicating attention and concentration, working and immediate memory, cognitive flexibility, and verbal learning; and with MnB for executive function, cognitive flexibility, visuo-spatial construction ability, and visual contrast sensitivity. This study strongly suggests that neuropsychological features contribute in a dose-effect related way to the portrait of manganism usually characterized by tremor, loss in balance, diminished cognitive performance, and signs and symptoms of parkinsonism. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Confined Spaces Construction Industry Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Welding
• Keywords:
  Adults Analytical-methods Analytical-processes Author Keywords: Manganese Exposure CATSYS Clinical Cases Confined-spaces Construction Construction-workers Emotional Status Fumes Motor Neurological Neurological-reactions Neurological-system Neurophysiological-effects Neuropsychological Statistical-analysis Vision Welders Welding-industry Work-intervals Work-operations Work-practices

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• ISSN:
  0161-813X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Colorado ; North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  298-311
• Volume:
  28
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032503
• Citation:
  Neurotoxicology 2007 Mar; 28(2):298-311
• Contact Point Address:
  Rosemarie M. Bowler, 8371 Kent Dr, El Cerrito, CA 94530, United States
• Email:
  rbowl@sfsu.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Manganese (CAS RN 7439-96-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Neurotoxicology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:546c1ec6e165b3e1b31ef8f43105659e8254021b909119b9e8d042857bb441fd74d4551ca79ab5e31654fe8a89c9a1fe0963bdd9f84ecf2c3a916bd4e5ef4d95
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186445/cdc_186445_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 633.14 KB ]