Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (6)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by SCHÄPER, M.
Right arrow Articles by SEEBER, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by SCHÄPER, M.
Right arrow Articles by SEEBER, A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Ann. occup. Hyg., Vol. 47, No. 6, pp. 493-502, 2003
© 2003 British Occupational Hygiene Society
Published by Oxford University Press

Occupational Toluene Exposure and Auditory Function: Results from a Follow-up Study

MICHAEL SCHÄPER*, PETER DEMES, MICHAELA ZUPANIC, MEINOLF BLASZKEWICZ and ANDREAS SEEBER

Institute for Occupational Physiology, University of Dortmund, Ardeystrasse 67, D-44139 Dortmund, Germany

Received 21 November 2002; in final form 20 March 2003

The ototoxicity of occupational exposure to toluene below 50 p.p.m. was investigated in a longitudinal study over 5 yr with four repeated examinations starting with 333 male workers from rotogravure printing plants. Past lifetime weighted average exposures (LWAE) to toluene and noise were determined from individual work histories; recent individual exposures were measured 10 times during the study (toluene, active sampling; noise, stationary measurements). The auditory thresholds were measured with pure tone audiometry. The mean LWAE exposures to toluene and noise were 45 ± 17 p.p.m. plus 82 ± 7 dB(A) for printers (high toluene intensity) and 10 ± 7 p.p.m. plus 82 ± 4 dB(A) for end-processors (low toluene intensity). The mean current exposures to toluene and noise during the study were 26 ± 20 p.p.m. plus 81 ± 4 dB(A) for printers and 3 ± 3 p.p.m. plus 82 ± 4 dB(A) for end-processors. Repeated measurement analyses (grouping factors: toluene intensity, exposure duration and noise intensity) and logistic regressions did not reveal significant effects of toluene intensity, of exposure duration and of interactions between toluene intensity and noise intensity. The stratification dependent on noise intensity itself [79 ± 3 versus 84 ± 1 dB(A)] was significantly associated with the auditory thresholds. Regarding the missing toluene effects, it was concluded that the threshold level for developing a hearing loss as a result of occupational toluene exposure might be above the actual limit of 50 p.p.m.

Keywords: biomarker; follow-up study; noise; rotogravure printing; toluene


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Occup. Environ. Med.Home page
M. Sliwinska-Kowalska
Organic solvent exposure and hearing loss
Occup. Environ. Med., April 1, 2008; 65(4): 222 - 223.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.