Laboratory Findings and Subjective Symptoms of Car Repair Workers

자동차 정비공의 혈액 및 뇨검사 소견과 자각증상에 대한 조사

To evaluate the effects on health by exposure to low dose organic solvents, the author analyzed the air concentration of mixed organic solvents (toluene, xylene, butylacetate) at worker's breathing zone during painting, some laboratory findings of blood (WBC, RBC, Hb, Hct, SGOT, SGPT, TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, IgG, IgM, IgA and IgE) and urine (hippuric acid, urinary protein, urobilinogen), surveyed the subjective symptoms those were obtained from 35 male workers exposed to mixed organic solvents, and 25 male workers not exposed to organic solvents who worked in car repair workshops in Taejon area from December 1, 1995, to February 29, 1996. The results were as follows: 1. The mean concentration of urinary hippuric acid of car painting worker group (organic solvent exposure group) was 0.76$\pm$ 0.21 g/l, which is significantly higher than that of non-exposed group. 2. In hematologic findings, the values of RBC, TC, LDL-C, IgG and IgE in the exposure group were significantly lower than those of the nonexposed group, but SGOT and SGPT in the exposure group were significantly higher than those of the non-exposed group. 3. Urinary hippuric acid levels showed positively correlated with toluene, urobilinogen and HDL-C levels, but those were negatively correlated with RBC, LDL-C, IgM levels. 4. Rates of the subjective symptoms such as "dizziness", "appetite loss", "weight loss", "palpitation", "chest tightness", "sore throat and eye discomfort", "tingling sense and acrodynia", "illusion or hallucination" and "decreaased motor power" were significantly higher in the exposure group than those of the non-exposed group.