ABSTRACT
N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone is a solvent that is increasingly used in a variety of industries, including petroleum refining, microelectronics, pesticide formulation, and veterinary medicine. Animal studies have demonstrated fetotoxic effects after maternal exposure to doses that have minimal to no adverse effect on the mothers. The fetotoxicity comprises resorption, stillbirth, and low birthweight and delayed ossification in surviving young. We report a human case of intrauterine growth retardation followed by fetal demise at 31 weeks gestation. The mother was a laboratory worker with no other apparent risk factors, who sustained occupational exposure to N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. Laboratory work and solvent exposure have both previously been associated with adverse reproductive outcomes. Laboratories and other industries that use suspected reproductive toxins should have reproductive health policies in place that allow for decision-making based on toxicologic review, exposure assessment, and medical evaluation. These policies should allow for voluntary removal of prospective parents until environmental assessment and controls are instituted.
Subject(s)
Chemical Industry , Fetal Death/chemically induced , Occupational Exposure , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects , Pyrrolidinones/adverse effects , Teratogens , Adult , Air Pollutants, Occupational/analysis , Environmental Monitoring , Female , Fetal Growth Retardation/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Pregnancy , Pyrrolidinones/analysis , Teratogens/analysis , Ultrasonography, PrenatalABSTRACT
Few well-controlled studies have assessed the extent and magnitude of adverse health conditions reported by video display terminal (VDT) operators. To evaluate the association between typical, daily VDT use and the prevalence of adverse conditions related to vision, musculoskeletal conditions, headaches, and colds or sore throats, we conducted a cross-sectional, epidemiologic study of 1,545 Massachusetts clerical workers. The study results indicated an increased prevalence of adverse conditions pertaining to vision, musculoskeletal discomfort, and headaches among clerical workers who used VDTs. The magnitude of the increased prevalence was dose dependent. The effects related to musculoskeletal discomfort and headaches were higher among VDT workers in computer and data processing services, public utilities, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts than among workers in banking, communications, and hospitals. These latter effects, however, may have been due to random variation.
