Neurobehavioral effects of acute styrene exposure in fiberglass boatbuilders

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hershman DL ; Letz R ; Mahoney FC ; Smith, Thomas J. ; Woskie S
• Description:
  Neurobehavioral evaluation system (NES) tests were administered repeatedly over the course of a work day to fiberglass boatbuilders to investigate the effects of acute exposure to styrene (100425). The NES tests used were the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the Hand/Eye Coordination Test, and the Symbol/Digit Substitution Test. Studies were conducted at six fiberglass boatbuilding companies with eight to 32 subjects tested at each company. Demographic and exposure data were collected for 105 subjects. Midday and afternoon performance was better than early morning performance for all three tests. Performance on the tests was related to age and level of education but not to years of exposure or self reported current alcohol consumption. Performance on Symbol/Digit during the afternoon session was significantly related to styrene exposure. There was no suggestion of an effect of styrene exposure on CPT or Hand/Eye performance. Neither were there significant effects on exposure duration on performance of any of the three tests in the morning testing session. The deficits that were noted were related to exposures to more than 50 parts per million as an 8 hour time weighted average. The authors suggest that NES can be expected to work well in other field testing situations where quantification of subclinical neurobehavioral deficits is desired. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Glass Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Occupational Health Safety Ships Solvents
• Keywords:
  Boat-manufacturing-industry Fiberglass-industry Humans Nervous-system-disorders Neurotoxic-effects Solvent-vapors Task-performance
• ISSN:
  0892-0362
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; New York ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  12
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00200142
• Citation:
  Neurotoxicol Teratol 1990 Nov; 12(6):665-668
• Contact Point Address:
  Community Medicine Mount Sinai School of Medicine One Gustave L Levy Place New York, N Y 10029
• CAS Registry Number:
  Styrene (CAS RN 100-42-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• NORA Priority Area:
  Neurotoxic Disorders ; Neurotoxic Effects
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19861101
• Source Full Name:
  Neurotoxicology and Teratology
• End Date:
  19870831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:57f9feec542d62a9bc04fdcf271364ef53b093f4be007f2a66a90d8db630066f4577ba6a58fef2fa035b33dff2ac4241cf5701ed69d3d6554fe73fb18d3d2cfc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/205184/cdc_205184_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 337.55 KB ]