제 목 : Solvent may damage hearing
일 자 : 1998년 01월
제공처 : Working Lif R ＆ D News
Solvents may damage hearing
=============================
People exposed to certain solvents can risk having their hearing damaged.
Exposure to toluene may even double that risk. These are the results of a
new study by the Brazilian guest researcher at the National Institute for
Working Life, Thais Morata.
She studied 124 print workers in the Brazilian capital, Sao Paulo, and
measured, among other things, the amount of toluene in their urine. There
was a clear link between traces of toluene and hearing damage.
"Up until now, hearing damage has almost exclusively been put down to noise,
but this research shows that toluene can also put hearing at risk," says
Thais Morata.
The National Institute for Working Life is now going to investigate how use
of another solvent, styrene, damages hearing. Employees from all over Sweden
who work with styrene, for example in the production of plastic products,
will have their hearing tested and complete a questionnaire about their work-
ing conditions. Researchers will then investigate what damage the solvent
causes, both alone and in combination with noise. A multi-test survey of
different types of hearing damage will also be conducted.
All data should be collected by autumn 1998, and changes in strategies about
how to prevent hearing damage at the workplace may be the final result. The
project is being lead by Ann-Christin Johnson, Per Nyl？n and Thais Morata.
Kajsa Lundgren
For more information contact
Per Nyl？n
tel:+ 46 8 730 97 74
|
이전글
다음글