Neurological Disorders in Three Workers Exposed to 1‐Bromopropane

Neurological Disorders in Three Workers Exposed to 1‐Bromopropane: Gaku Ichihara, et al. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine— A 35‐yr‐old female worker developed sore throat, stumbling, dysphagia, incontinence of urination and numbness with a burning sensation in the legs, thighs, hips and lower back as well as numbness in the perineum. She was spraying a glue to compose a cushion with polyurethane foam parts. One year after beginning to use a glue containing mainly 1‐bromopropane, she became unable to stand up by herself. The second case, a 30‐yr‐old female worker developed a staggering gait, paresthesia, urinary incontinence, slurred voice, dysphagia, numbness or paresthesia in the hands, legs, lower back, hips and perineum, six months after beginning the same task. The third case, a 50‐yr‐old female worker showed signs of staggering, and numbness and paresthesias in the feet, thighs, lower back and hips, and headache, two months after starting the work. The daily time‐weighted average of exposure concentrations ranged from 60 to 261 ppm (mean 133, N=11) after the ventilation was improved. The common signs in the three workers were staggering, numbness with paresthesia/dysesthesia, as well as a remarkable decrease in vibration sense in the legs and various symptoms in the central nervous system. Abnormal sensation was distributed to the area covered by pantyhose, rather than glove‐stocking. Not only peripheral nerves, but also the spinal cord or brainstem was suspected to be impaired, given the paresthesia/dysesthesia and the distribution of sense deficits. Their diarrhea, incontinence of urination and abnormal sweating also suggested disorders in the autonomous nervous system. 1‐Bromopropane might induce neurological disorders in the peripheral nerves and/or the central nervous system in humans.