Premium
A health survey of workers in the pentachlorophenol section of a chemical manufacturing plant
Author(s) -
Cheng Wei Nan,
Coenraads P. J.,
Hao Zhi Hui,
Liu Guo Fang
Publication year - 1993
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.4700240108
Subject(s) - pentachlorophenol , medicine , section (typography) , environmental health , occupational exposure , chemical plant , environmental chemistry , environmental science , environmental engineering , advertising , chemistry , business
During 1968 to 1985, 109 workers who had been engaged in the production of pentachlorophenol, using non‐gamma isomers of hexachloroclohexane (BHC) as the raw material, were surveyed. Endemic chloracne among them had been noted since 1974. The prevalence of chloracne was 73.4% (80/109) in total and 95.2% (20/21) in a trichlorobenzene (TCB) tank area where dioxin and dibenzofurans levels were thousands of ppm. To our knowledge, PCDDs and PCDFs have not previously been reported from thermal decomposition of BHC. Urinary porphyrins were significantly higher among exposed workers than among the controls but there was no significant difference between the workers with chloracne and those without. The conduction velocities of the median motor nerves were much slower among the workers in the TCB tank area where the highest PCDDs contamination appeared. The mortality study cohort was relatively young. Based on the three deaths observed during the follow‐up, no association could be drawn. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.