I ran across this somewhere on the 'net the other night while searching on
the keyword "pesticides" I think - WT
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ORGANIC SOLVENTS DAMAGE BRAIN AND CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.
The most common pollutants found in water are organic solvents:
trichloroethylene, ethyl benzene, perchloroethylene, and so on.
In the home, water is exposed to the air by many activities
(bathing, showering, flushing toilets, washing clothes, washing
dishes, cooking, and so forth). During these activities, organic
solvents can be transferred from water to air. Furthermore, many
common household products contain organic solvents (paints,
varnish, glues, cleaning compounds). It is therefore no surprise
that organic solvents can be measured in indoor air, often at
levels higher than those found in outdoor air. In many
workplaces, exposure to organic solvents is high and is more or
less constant.
A recent study, published in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
(November, 1988), of the effects of organic solvents on the human
nervous system gives such a clear picture of the problem that we
will quote it at length. Because the language in the original
article is laced with medical terms, we have tried to provide
some translations:
"Because organic solvents have a special affinity [attraction]
for lipid-rich tissues [fatty tissues], including brain tissue,
they have been implicated in producing a wide range of somatic
[physical] and neuropsychiatric [mental, or nervous system]
symptoms.
"It is not uncommon for adults exposed to solvents to report
increased forgetfulness, difficulties concentrating, depressed
affect [feelings], heightened irritability, dizziness, motor
incoordination [uncoordinated movement], and weakness in the
extremities [hands, feet, arms and legs]. While it is generally
believed that this reduction in physical and mental efficiency
will clear spontaneously several hours or days after the
individual is removed from the exposure source, many
individuals-particularly those who have had multiple episodes of
'solvent intoxication'--complain that their problems have not
disappeared despite the fact that their last exposure occurred
several months earlier.
"Objective evidence of neuropsychiatric impairment has been
provided by several recent epidemiologic and clinical studies.
Using structured psychiatric interviews and behavioral
checklists, investigators have noted that when compared with
control subjects or published norms [average behavior],
solvent-exposed workers report more fatigue, tension,
irritability, mood changes, and difficulty with memory and
concentration. On standardized neuropsychological [nervous
system] tests, solvent-exposed workers have been found to perform
more poorly than control subjects on measures of reaction time,
memory, abstract reasoning, visuospatial ability, manual
dexterity, and perceptuomotor speed."
In short, there is abundant evidence that occupational exposure
to solvents can fry your brain and nervous system.
One complaint frequently voiced by individuals exposed to
solvents is a medical condition called parosmia, which is a
perceived change in the sense of smell. Often such people not
only report that their sense of smell is altered, but they also
complain that certain substances smell extremely unpleasant. Such
individuals find that certain odors, which they would usually
consider neutral or mildly unpleasant, such as hair spray,
gasoline, or perfumes) are exceedingly disagreeable. For some
unknown reason, such people have developed a great sensitivity
("hypersensitivity") to certain odors, a medical condition known
as cacosmia. This unusual sensitivity to odors is often
accompanied by headaches, dizziness, and feelings of nausea so
strong that affected individuals make a concerted effort to avoid
repeated exposures to those substances thereafter.
Now a formal scientific study of blue collar workers has
confirmed that smell hypersensitivity is associated with poor
performance on standard mental and physical tests. Two groups of
blue collar workers, one who had been exposed to solvents, and
one who had not, were matched for age, level of education, and
general intelligence. Each group submitted to a series of tests
for hand-eye coordination, learning and memory, attention span,
and other measures of nervous system function. The
solvent-exposed group performed poorly on many of the tests,
compared to the non-exposed group. Those members of the
solvent-exposed group who reported experiencing nausea after
contact with certain odors performed most poorly on tests of
verbal learning and visual memory ("Describe the details of the
picture I just showed you."). The authors of the study say the
tests do not PROVE it, but the test results are consistent with a
diagnosis of actual brain damage to the odor-hypersensitive
workers.
A word to the wise: When someone says there's "no immediate
risk" from exposure to solvents in your water supply, or the air
inside your home, they are talking about a cancer risk only. We
know of no standards for low-level exposure to solvents that are
designed to protect your brain or your central nervous system. Do
we want to raise a generation of children drinking and breathing
small amounts of cleaning fluid day after day? We do not.
Get: Christopher Ryan and others, "Cacosmia and Neurobehavioral
Dysfunction Associated With Occupational Exposure to Mixtures of
Organic Solvents." AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY, Vol. 145
(November, 1988), pgs. 1442-1445. For a reprint, contact Dr. Ryan
at Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and
Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3811 O'Hara
Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; phone (412) 648-9641 and ask for
Dr. Ryan's office.
--Peter Montague, Ph.D.
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