Neurological Disorders in Three Workers Exposed to 1-Bromopropane

• Published in: Journal of Occupational Health 2002, Vol.44 (1), p.1-7
• Main Authors: Ichihara, Gaku, Miller, Joseph Keith, Ziolkokwska, Aldona, Itohara, Seiichiro, Takeuchi, Yasuhiro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 1‐Bromopropane; Alternative solvent to ozone‐layer depleting; Central nervous system; Dysphagia; Female employees; Intoxication; Intoxication cases; Nervous system; Neurological disorders; Occupational exposure; Occupational health; Urination
• ISSN: 1341-9145; 1348-9585; 1348-9585
• DOI: 10.1539/joh.44.1

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 nen/ous system in humans.