[The effect of combined exposure to chemical and physical factors on the nervous system during aluminum production: a preliminary finding].

Background: The authors present the results of medical examinations of workers employed in an aluminum electrolysis plant with occupational exposure to aluminum dust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and magnetic field.

Methods And Materials: The study covered a selected group of 39 male workers (mean age, 44,9; SD = 7.5 years; range 29-55 years) involved in the aluminum production. Their employment duration ranged between 5 and 32 years (mean, 17.8; SD = 6.7 years). Urine aluminum concentrations in workers ranged from 8.9 to 70.2 microg/g creatinine (mean, 31.72; SD = 18.3 microg/g creatinine). Urine 1-hydroxypyrene concentrations recorded in workers ranged from 0.67 to 10.09 microg/g creatinine (mean, 3.42; SD = 2.1 microg/g creatinine). The control group consisted of 39 men matched by gender, age and work shifts.

Results: Clinical symptoms, such as headache (46.2%), increased emotional irritability (66.7%), concentration difficulty (25.6%), insomnia (30.8%), hypersomnia (15.4%), and mood lability (10.3%) predominated among functional disorders of the nervous system in workers chronically exposed to chemical and physical factors. The objective neurological examinations did not reveal organic lesions in the central or peripheral nervous system. In EEG recordings, classified as abnormal, paroxysmal changes were most common (20.5%).

Conclusions: The authors emphasized great difficulty in evaluating the combined effects of toxic and physical factors exerted on the nervous system.