The uses of epidemiology in the study of neurotoxic pollutants: lessons from the workplace.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Landrigan, Philip J.
• Description:
  Examples were presented in this review of neurologic and psychiatric syndromes which have evolved through exposure to hazardous chemicals in the workplace. Clinical recognition of the problem has been the first step in demonstrating a toxic etiology for an existing condition. An exposure history must be gathered including occupational, environmental, and drug ingestion histories. Three case histories were presented where history gathering revealed a common link. The first involved bladder dysfunction in workers at a factory producing polyurethane plastic armrests for automobiles. The second concerned neuropsychiatric illness in workers exposed to chlordecone (143500) at a chemical facility in Hopewell, Virginia. The third involved a neurological impairment in three patients who worked at a plastics factory. Epidemiologic follow up in the first case implicated exposure to the catalyst dimethylaminopropionitrile (1738256) as the cause of the bladder dysfunction. Extremely bad working conditions with high exposures to chlordecone were found at the Hopewell facility. In the third case, exposure to 2-t-butylazo- 2-hydroxy-5-methylhexane (BHMH) was determined to be the causative agent. In each of these three cases, a degree of toxicologic corroboration was achieved in laboratory animal studies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Laboratories Nervous System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  NIOSH-Author; Epidemiology; Neuropathology; Neurotoxic-effects; Psychomotor-disorders; Peripheral-nervous-system; Central-nervous-system; Neurological-reactions; Laboratory-animals
• ISSN:
  0020-7411
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  44-63
• Volume:
  14
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00175549
• Citation:
  Int J Ment Health 1985 Sep; 14(3):44-63
• CAS Registry Number:
  Chlordecone (CAS RN 143-50-0) ; Dimethylaminopropionitrile (CAS RN 1738-25-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• NORA Priority Area:
  Neurotoxic Disorders ; Neurotoxic Effects
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Mental Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/247612/cdc_247612_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]