Subject(s)
Cadmium Poisoning/complications , Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/chemically induced , Occupational Diseases/chemically induced , Cadmium Poisoning/diagnosis , Cadmium Poisoning/immunology , Diagnosis, Differential , Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/diagnosis , Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis/immunology , Humans , Male , Occupational Diseases/diagnosisABSTRACT
A plant for the synthesis and packaging of cadmium oxide was operated for 32 months (1982-84) in a small chemical factory producing zinc and copper oxide. The cumulative exposure of 6 workers was from 12 to 190 days. Five years after cessation of exposure the blood cadmium levels in the exposed were, on average, 4-10 times higher than those of a reference group and the urinary cadmium levels were 1-6-times higher. In view of the long half-life of cadmium in the human body, the choice of normal reference values requires particular care since brief and sometimes forgotten exposures to cadmium may be a confounding factor to set reference values.
Subject(s)
Cadmium Compounds , Cadmium , Cadmium/blood , Occupational Exposure , Oxides , Cadmium/urine , Half-Life , Humans , Metabolic Clearance Rate , Reference Values , Time Factors , beta 2-Microglobulin/metabolism , beta 2-Microglobulin/urineABSTRACT
The Authors observed, in a group of 15 subjects working in operating theatres and occupationally exposed to anesthetic gases, an increase of simple reaction average times and an increase of the latency of the wave V of the brainstem auditory evoked potentials. The small number of subjects doesn't allow to draw conclusions. Nevertheless the findings agree with first analogous studies. The Authors, therefore, think opportune to continue the research to acquire further evidence and to ascertain the validity of the current TLV.
