Document GvxRgyXMNbvpxJzq8q4rDL87

Journal of Occupational Medicine Otlio.il publication of AMERICAN OCC'jPATIONAi MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OCCUPATIONAL HEARING LOSS There is increased risk of noise-induced hearing loss at exposure levels holwoen 60 and 90 dBA, according to this study This risk increase ranges from .1% to ?2 5o for those in the age 50 to 65 range The largo discrepancy m (lie percentage impaired in the various noise areas cannot bo readily oxpla--' nim.euiin masons nrn given in this ar ticle which begins on p. 13. 0V <;t< b N'JU1 (llWIUlh 91/?} `JJNi IjmOHv *lib MtOivI fO "IV'O I W3H J *u(J TUMORS IN A PLANT HANDLING 3 3' DICHLOROBENZIDINE Although bladder tumors have been a known risk in the dyestuffs industry lor more than 75 years, it is only comparatively recently that it has been possible to identity causative chemicals Details concerning exposure to dtchlorobenzidine in a British plant are described in an article beginning on p. 23. PHYSICAL PROFILES FOR SPECIFIC JOBS Inherent risk of in|ury associated with heavy physical work tasks frequently obviates direct job analysis -- content validity lor predictive or diagnostic purposes A common alternative is an appraisal of Ibe physical attributes manifest by |Ob requirements and selection ol tests ol related physical factors Identification, vatic.ition and probabilities (or success are described beginning on p. 27. "TROUBLED" EMPLOYEES IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL This article presents an interesting approach lor dealing with the psychological factors in volved in the work situation. It offers lour worthwhile principles (or an effective oc cupational mental health program See p, 34, January, 1975, Volume 17, No. 1 R& s 025231 Mercury Burden of Hunun Autopsy Orpins and Tissues, N, K, Mullet, R L Body An I: lnviron I Irjllh 29 18. 1074 Dept. of I'jltml. *gy, Umv ol Wash,nglnn School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195. Fourteen different tissues from each of 11J people in the fjcner.il population of the Puget Sound area of Washington, aged 2f> weeks of gestation to 88 years, coniained mercury usually below 0 5 fig/gm (ppm). Of all assays 70 percent were 0,25 /j R/gm or below. Only 8", had levels at .75 pg/gm or above with no unusually high burden. Levels in kid ney tissues averaged well above any other tissue. Mercury in Man, P C Slein; , E. Camphell; W. D Moss; P. Trujillo, Arch Environ Health 29'25, 1974, Umv. of California, Los Alamos Scientific labinaiory, I'O, Bos 1881, Los Alamos, NM 87544, Lung, liver, and kidney lissues from 47 persons from the Denver area and 411 from the Los Alamos N.M. area (wtlhoul therapeutic, occupational or en vironmental histories) contained 1.5 /i g/gm (PPM) or below of mercury. All but (our samples were at 1,0 ppm or below. There was no significant geographical difference. Authors statistically estimate that if their subjects represent general population, 99% will have less than 1 p g/gm and ,95% will have less than 0,2 p glgm. Levels in kid ney averaged higher than lung or liver. --C.E Q. Asbestos-like Fibers in Duluth Water Suppi > -- Relation to Cancer Mortality, T, |, Masson; F. W, McKay; R W. Miller. /AMA 228:1019) 1974. A-521 Landosv Bldg., National Cance Institute, Belhesda, MD 20014 :"'a. High concentrations of asbestos-like fibers have been detected recently in the drinking water supplies of ; Duluth, Minn., and other supplies on Ihe shores of Lake Superior. EPA suggested that these fibers probably came- from minetailings or mill waste from (aconite ore emptied info Lake Superior since 1955. For Ihe next 14 years (since 1955), no carcinogenic effect was found in the pat terns of cancer mortality among persons >' all age*, no; among children. The i-rertod of study is short relative to the latent period for occupationally induced carcinogenesis from asbestos. , --C E.Q Ingested Dyed Cellulose in the Blond and Urine of Man. G Si Ini-ile i Anti fmirun ffist/rf) 29 19, 1974 4819 W C .uiiUi Dallas 1X 7520*1 Many poor rep.ms ul parlitulaie mat ter in experimental animals' iismics, blood and urine and mine recently tnnjundtval vessels ol man mnlisateil a search ol blood and unne tor (ties musty unrecognized particles Plant particulates occur as contaminants of many mmmonly used solutions and as .inhume contaminants. Purification arid ioncenlralron techniques utilizing the grid membrane litter and fastidious m"ihnds of preventing contaminants wendeveloped. Some of these same particles dyed with methylene blue or basic Fuchsm were srill evident even alter elaborate preparative techniques, anil author maintains they represent panic les transported from the stomach to blood and urine. (Abstractor's Note; future investiga tions might well include seari h for trans port 01 cellulose particles dyed with gen tian violet breathed and ingested in grossly visible amounts by thousands ol fruit (lackers for months mi end during 7 to 20 or more years ) -C, f () __ Angiosarcoma of the liver Following vinyl Chloride Exposure, J, If Block JAMA 229 5 5, 1974. 1228 Capital Plaza Tower, Frankiwi, KY 40(701 Recently six workers exposed for 12 or more years to vinyl chloride develufied angiosarcoma of the liver. Those are the 44lh to 49th cases reported in the world literature but without prior relationship to such occupational exposure, it is not known whether brief high-level ex posures or long-term lower level ex posures caused the cancers. --C IQ DERMATOLOGY Chloracne --'"A Continuing Problem, J S. Taylor, Cutis 13 585-591, 19/4. Di-pl Der matology, Cleveland Clime Foundation. 9*jfXl Euclid Avg , Cleveland, QH 4410(7 Chloracnegenic compounds include chloronaphthalenes, polychlorobiphonyls, polychlorinated djben/ofurans, comaminants of chlorophenols and cer tain chlorobenzenes. Chloracnc, a disease extremely refractory to treatment, Clinically consists of straw-colored cysts, comedones, pustules and abscesses on exposed areas <>f the !<*<Jv im lijd.h^ I.KI', nitk tind gwutaha A cM, o' to four weeks alter initial coni.e: <>i ,n set rnay l>e nbvrvcnj Syslermr -fr- i tin* halogens include ,\\, which may l>c* tala! Other systrrnn Irr Is inchrde ern[)fiysema, m;o. -lelt.if degeneration, nephritis. hvfiti t. ...n anil neurologic change's Prevention m* solves use Ol ( ornplelely-r lov*J sssteins in m.mutac lure ot sue ft chlorinated < Dounds tirid absolute avoidance ot kku> ami respiratory contact Ac m* ^utyets and dermabrasion are hurts wjim n.e treatments, ami rerenily topical \n,ini;i A acid has fx-en employed -- U \t 4 Prevention of Oc<upilinndt Skin Oiifj'.i'* from lvpcmm* to Chromic Acid and Chromates; Use of Ascorbic Aod. V. H Sannt/ Cutis IT W74 14?h ,nvi S|)rufe St Phil.idWphui, t"-\ I'lHl-l A 10T, solution ol asc off) i acid e* slated to be etlective in prevenum; ad verse reactions to (hromates Ifu* mechanism involved mav nc (ucle nxfi.* hon ot fiexavalent chromium to tnsaltnt chromium with subscx|uc*nt complex tor mahon Hv impregnating respiration tillers vnh ascorbic and prohx lion nu. inc tease, --K M 4 EXPERIMENTAL TOXICOLOCY / Cadmium: Inability to Induce Hypertension in lhe R,t, m c Porter, I S Miva. *V. f Bnusquet Toxicology Applied f'lunnjt o'm;v 27.892-895, 1974 Departmen' ot Pharmacofogy and Toxicology, Schoul ol Pharimacy and Pharmacal Scn-ncet,, Putdue Univeisuv, Wi**l lafavelle. tnd Cadmium hay been suggested as a potential etiologic agent in human hypertension and has been reported to induce hypertension in experimental animals. Cadmium acetate was ad ministered ip to Sprague-Dawley derived and hooded Long-Evans rats at several dose levels and under a variely of ticatment schedules and conditions. Under none of these circumstances was hyper tension produced. These findings imply lhai an experimental protocol simply in volving Cd administration does nol lead, per se, to the production of hyper tension Some subde dietary or other en vironmental variable may be of major significance in the production of ex(senmental hypertension with Cd. ~K.CE Selected Reviews from the Literature 0 N> 01 N3 Co) fO T,rats do. san and sam' wh1 i-ti fib > Lur ade we: coi , adi sen me. lo san me we Ca. me da*! po and Lon L V' 1 ' o,1,'r: V-/,' a -SsUtfi; 1 ^lai^s^pr^ortion of the residual variance was the concentration of S02.. The decrease in peak flow corresponding with a large increase| in SG2 concentration, however, was small, and much of the day-to-aa^;! variation in peak flow was due to factors other than the concentrationsj of smoke or SO2, temperature, or relative humidity. Reductions in M peak flow were often associated with respiratory infections, and, as hr the parallelistudy of spirometric measurements, the possibility that i pollution had indirect effects on ventilatory function by affecting the | course of respiratory infections was considered. >" ' ' K ~ I 7 II >r I 23033. ;pANGE, C.-E., S. JUEHE, G. STEIN and G. VELTMAN. (Univ.-Hautklin. Bonn, D-5300 Bonn, W. Ger.) Die sogenannte-Vinyl-J . cHlorid-Krankheit-eine berufsbedingte Systemsklerose? [ The so- I Tcaileaivihy&chlo'ride1,disease;'an' occupational systemic sclerosis?] i tINT^RCH^VRBEITSMED32(1/2): 1-32. Illus. 1974[released;l973]| Engl. summ.]--The health status of 13 workers iffrf/emj^oyedffpr^l.TS-lS yr in a polyvinyl chloride factory was studied. ] Eiglit. of therm had scleroderma-like skin changes characterizedrhisto7; logic ally by. thic kenmg and homogenization of the collagen bundles and / fragmentation and rarefraction of the elastic fibers. In 7 patients, .thickeningiof terminal finger phalanges resembling clubbing was noted; ^ ji'13pakentsfhad circulatory disturbances of the extremities (4 had. Rayc naua|s syndrpme) and 6 patients had band-like osteolyses,of terminal w finger .phalanges. In addition to these disturbances, thrombocytopenia 10 iCwas4pbseryeapin aU;.patients,splenomegaly m 12 patients, .and;malfun(M N ^ion|OT|themyei*4in llA patients. ; Histological examinationw liver bioS w ipsie^t^kerg^oni; 5 patients who underwent laparoscopy revealed mark- portal areas, 4 patients had esophageal Avarices anal ^^pf>i'dm.drehgpi?'gans are far more extensive than the syndromKof occupa K^Wona^p^^steolysis^already; known. Long-term exposure tcjvapors J