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Effects of elemental mercury exposure at a thermometer plant
Author(s) -
Ehrenberg Richard L.,
Vogt Richard L.,
Smith Alexander Blair,
Brondum Jack,
Brightwell W. Stephen,
Hudson Paul J.,
McManus Kevin P.,
Han W. Harry,
Phipps Frederick C.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700190407
Subject(s) - thermometer , medicine , mercury (programming language) , creatinine , urine , urinary system , renal function , population , toxicology , retinol binding protein , physiology , zoology , surgery , environmental health , biology , retinol , vitamin , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , programming language
This study compares 84 mercury‐exposed workers at a thermometer manufacturing facility with 79 unexposed workers for evidence of chronic mercury toxicity. Personal breathing‐zone air concentrations of mercury ranged from 25.6 to 270.6 μg/m 3 for thermometer workers. Urinary mercury levels in the study population ranged from 1.3 to 344.5 μg/g creatinine, with eight (10%) participants exceeding 150 μg/g creatinine and three workers exceeding 300 μg/g creatinine, which indicates increased absorption of mercury among the thermometer workers. All urine mercury levels in the comparison group were compatible with normal background levels in unexposed adults (<10 μg/g creatinine). Thermometer plant workers reported more symptoms than did controls; in general, these differences were not statistically significant and could not be specifically associated with mercury exposure. Static tremor, abnormal Romberg test, dysdiadochokinesia, and difficulty with heel‐to‐toe gait were more prevalent among thermometer workers than control workers, which could not be associated with recent mercury exposure; there was some suggestion of an association with chronic exposure. There were no intergroup differences for the standard clinical tests of renal function except for a significantly higher mean specific gravity among the thermometer workers. A positive correlation was found, however, between urinary N‐acetyl‐b‐D‐glucosaminidase (NAG) and urinary mercury. There was no consistent evidence for intergroup differences in proximal renal tubule function, as measured by urinary β 2 ‐microglobulin (B2M) or retinol binding protein (RBP).