Open AccessLong-term exposure to jet fuel. II. A cross-sectional epidemiologic investigation on occupationally exposed industrial workers with special reference to the nervous system.
Author(s) -
Bengt Knave,
Birgitta Anshelm Olson,
Stig Elofsson,
Francesco Gamberale,
Anders Isaksson,
Per Mindus,
Hans Persson,
G. Struwe,
AnnMarie Wennberg,
Peter Westerholm
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of work, environment and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.621
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1795-990X
pISSN - 0355-3140
DOI - 10.5271/sjweh.2725
Subject(s) - jet fuel , occupational exposure , medicine , incidence (geometry) , hygiene , toxicology , occupational hygiene , occupational safety and health , environmental health , physiology , pathology , biology , mathematics , engineering , waste management , geometry
Thirty jet fuel exposed workers selected according to exposure criteria and thirty nonexposed controls from a jet motor factory were examined, with special reference to the nervous system, by occupational hygiene physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and neurophysiologists. The controls and the exposed subjects were matched with respect to age, employment duration, and education. Among the exposed subjects the mean exposure duration was 17 years, and 300 mg/m3 was calculated as a rough time-weighted average exposure level. The investigation revealed significant differences between the exposed and nonexposed groups for (a) incidence and prevalence of psychiatric symptoms, (b) psychological tests with the load on attention and sensorimotor speed and (c) electroencephalograms. When the control group was selected, it was ensured that the two groups were essentially equivalent except for exposure to jet fuel. It is concluded, therefore, that the differences found between the groups are probably related to exposure to jet fuel.