Prevalence of neuropsychiatric and mucous membrane irritation complaints among Palestinian shoe factory workers exposed to organic solvents and plastic compounds

BACKGROUND

Long-term exposure to organic solvents is associated with neuropsychiatric and mucus membrane irritation. In developing countries, efforts to secure a good working environment are inadequate and protection against chemical exposures is often neglected.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional survey, the prevalence of self-reported health complaints and the association with long-term exposure to solvents and plastic materials in the work environment was studied among 167 shoe-factory workers. Prevalences and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR)were calculated in Cox regression. 95% confidence intervals were estimated for PRs of adverse health effects.

RESULTS

Overall, the workers reported high prevalences of neuropsychiatric and mucus membrane complaints: headache (65%), mental irritability (53%), tingling of limbs (46%), and sore eyes (43%). Cleaning work was associated with tingling of limbs (PR = 1.8, 1.0-3.2), sore eyes (PR = 1.9, 1.1-3.3), and breathing difficulty (PR = 2.0, 1.0-3.9); plastic work was associated with tingling of limbs (PR = 1.8, 1.2-2.9)and sore eyes (PR = 1.7, 1.1-2.7); and varnishing was associated with breathing difficulty (PR = 1.9, 1.1-3.5).

CONCLUSIONS

The high prevalence of self-reported health complaints and the exposure-outcome association could be due to volatile organic solvents (dichloromethane, n-hexane)and plastic compounds (isocyanates and polyvinyl chloride). Absence of a satisfactory work environment is likely to contribute to high exposure levels.

The cross-talk between lateral sheet dimensions of pristine graphene oxide nanoparticles and Ni2+ adsorption

This study investigated the removal of nickel(ii) ions by using two sizes of graphene oxide nanoparticles (GO - 450 nm and GO - 200 nm). The thickness and lateral sheet dimensions of GO are considered to be an important adsorbent and promising method for sufficient removal of metals like nickel, lead, copper, etc. The graphite oxide was prepared by oxidation-reduction reaction (Hummers method), and the final product was labelled as GO - 450 nm. A tip sonicator was used to reduce the size of particles to 200 nm under controlled conditions (time and power of sonication). FTIR spectroscopy shows that both sizes of GO particles contain several types of oxygen groups distributed onto the surface of GO particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the statistical analysis confirmed the formation of these two sizes of GO particles. The GO - 200 nm performed better removal of Ni(ii) compared with GO - 450 nm, due to more surfaces being available. The adsorption capacity of GO particles increased drastically from 45 mg g-1 to 75 mg g-1 for GO - 450 nm and GO - 200 nm respectively, these values were carried out after 2 h of incubation. The kinetics of adsorption and several parameters like initial concentration at equilibrium, pH, temperature, and adsorbent dose are controlled and studied by using UV-visible spectroscopy. The results indicated a significant potential of GO - 200 nm as an adsorbent for Ni(ii) ion removal. An additional experiment was performed to estimate the surface area of GO - 450 nm and GO - 200 nm, the results show that the surface areas of GO - 450 nm and GO - 200 nm are 747.8 m2 g-1 and 1052.2 m2 g-1 respectively.

Solvent exposures at shoe factories and workshops in Hebron City, West Bank

Exposure to organic solvents has been reported to increase the risks for acute and chronic health effects among shoe industry workers. In developing countries, protection against chemical exposures is often not provided. The study was conducted to identify working conditions and estimate the concentrations of organic solvents used in shoe factories and workshops in Hebron City. Personal interviews containing questions related to personal protective equipment (PPE) were used to identify working conditions, and samples collected from factories and workshops were analyzed using gas chromatography. Geometric means (GMs) were calculated for the solvents. Six major organic solvents were detected in the factories. Acetone (GM = 51.5 mg/m3, GSD = 3.82) was common in gluing tasks. Dichloromethane (GM = 47 mg/m3, GSD = 2.62) was common in cleaning tasks. Heptane, methylethyl ketone, n-hexane, and toluene were common in gluing tasks. Four major organic solvents were detected in the workshops: acetone (GM = 32.3 mg/m:3, GSD = 6.33), toluene (GM = 70.3 mg/m3, GSD = 3.06), n-hexane (GM = 19.4 mg/m3:, GSD = 2.65), and methylethyl ketone (GM = 130 mg/mM3, GSD = 1.5). 81% of the factory workers had never used respiratory protective equipment, and 92% had never used work clothes. 97% of the workers in the workshops had never used respiratory protective equipment, 94% had never worn gloves, and 90% had never used work clothes. Exposures to solvents in the absence of personal Protective equipment, tasks barriers, and mechanical ventilation can adversely affect health.

Prevalence of self-reported health complaints among shoe workers of small workshop exposed to organic solvents in Hebron City, West Bank: a cross-sectional survey

The study was conducted to estimate the prevalences of neurological disorders and mucous membrane irritation complaints among workers of shoe workshops in Hebron City, in particular to measure the associations between the occurrence of symptoms indicating polyneuropathy among workers and exposure to organic solvents in the glueing tasks. A group of 103 male workers from 30 workshops, exposed to organic solvents for more than one year were recruited to the study during the years 1996-1997. A validated Swedish neuropsychiatric questionnaire which contained questions on neurological and mucous irritation symptoms was used. Prevalence ratios were used as an indicator for relative risk. The overall prevalence of painful tingling of limbs (used as indicator of polyneuropathy) was high among the workshop workers (40%) and was significantly associated with long term exposure to organic solvents in glueing tasks (PR 2.8: 95% CI 1.0-8.3). Moderate associations were seen in other tasks. Headache and mental irritability did not show any association with organic solvent exposure in the workshop tasks. Breathing difficulty showed a moderate non-significant association with long term exposure to organic solvents (72 months) in cleaning tasks (1.9,0.7-4.8), while sore eyes also showed a moderate non-significant association with exposure to organic solvents for 25-72 months in the glueing tasks. Long term exposure to n-hexane (mainly found in the glues) could be the main cause of polyneuropathy among the workers of Hebron shoe workshops. The absence of effective ventilation systems and personal protective equipment might increase the prevalence of polyneuropathy among these workers. In conclusion, glues containing high concentrations of n-hexane are still in use in many shoe workshops in Hebron City (as well as in other developing countries), and long term exposure to n-hexane in glueing compounds could result in polyneuropathy among the workers. However, in the absence of objective measurements our results must be interpreted with caution. Well planned longitudinal studies with objective measures of exposure and disease are important for future research in developing countries.