BACKGROUND: In the
construction industry , maintaining
health and
safety of
workers often challenging. Among the
workers at
construction sites, painters are at particular
risk of
respiratory diseases and neurotoxicity. However, in
Korea there is weak enforcement of
workers '
health and
safety practices in the
construction industry in
Korea .
Poisonings frequently occur at (semi)closed
construction sites. In this study, we
report a case of acute organic
solvent poisoning during
construction site
painting . CASE PRESENTATION A 71-year-old man was found unconscious at a
construction site and immediately transferred to the
emergency room . The
consciousness level was '
stupor state ' and the
body temperature was hypothermic, at 32 degrees (Celsius). There were no acute
brain or cardiac lesions that would have accounted for the faintness. In addition,
blood and
urine tests did not indicate a cause of
loss of consciousness . He had been
painting epoxy to waterproof the basement
floor before
fainting . According to exposure simulation, the
patient was overexposed to various organic
solvents , such as approximately 316–624 ppm
toluene during the
work before
fainting . Considering the
ventilation status of the
workplace and the status of no
protection , it is considered that exposure through the
respiratory tract was considerable.
CONCLUSIONS: The
patient in this case lost
consciousness during the epoxy coating in a semi-enclosed space. It can be judged as a result of acute
poisoning caused by organic
solvent exposure and considered to be highly related to
work environment .