Acute health effects of styrene are generally
irritation of the skin, eyes, and the upper respiratory tract. Acute exposure
also results in gastrointestinal effects. Chronic exposure affects the central
nervous system showing symptoms such as depression, headache, fatigue, weakness,
and may cause minor effects on kidney function. The following references aid in
recognizing occupational hazards and health effects associated with styrene.
- Styrene.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (2003, September 15). Includes a
hazard summary and health hazard information.
- Chronic Toxicology Summary: Styrene. Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), State of California, (2003,
August), 49 KB PDF,
13 pages. Provides a summary of chronic reference exposure levels adopted by
OEHHA.
- Code of Practice: Styrene. Department of Consumer and Employment
Protection, Government of Western Australia. Provides a
brief description of short and long term health effects of styrene exposure.
- Consumer
Factsheet on: Styrene. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (2002,
November 26). Discusses the effects of styrene in public or private drinking
water supplies.
- Styrene Monomer. New Jersey Department of
Health and Senior Services, (1998, May), 35 KB PDF,
6 pages. Provides a summary source of information of all potential and most
severe health hazards that may result from styrene exposure.
- Styrene.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), (1996, August
16). Provides an Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) document
that includes acute toxicity data for styrene.
- OSHA Styrene Agreement. OSHA, (1996,
February 14), 2 MB PDF,
10 pages. Discusses the announcement that industries using styrene have
adopted a voluntary compliance program to protect their employees.
- ToxFAQs
for Styrene. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR), (1995, September). Answers the most frequently asked health
questions about styrene.
- Styrene.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Integrated Risk Information System
(IRIS), (1990, September 1). Discusses the health effect information for
styrene.
- Styrene.
California Department of Health Services, (1990, May). Includes information
on health effects, testing, and legal exposure limits of styrene.
- Criteria
for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Styrene. US
Department of Health and Human Services, (DHHS), National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 83-119,
(1983, September). Includes health effects, hazard recognition, and worker
protection information for styrene.
- Styrene.
Summary & Evaluation, International Agency for Research Against Cancer (IARC),
(2002). Presents its summary, and gives a description of expected
population exposure sources and amounts, "Human exposure occurs at levels
of milligrams per day during its production and industrial use and at much
higher levels in the glass fibre-reinforced plastics industry. Exposure to the
general population occurs at levels of micrograms per day due manly to
inhalation of ambient air and cigarette smoke and intake of food that has been
in contact with styrene-containing polymers."
- Report
on Carcinogens (RoC). US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS),
National Toxicology Program (NTP). Identifies and discusses agents,
substances, mixtures, or exposure circumstances that may pose a hazard to
human health by virtue of their carcinogenicity.
- Styrene-7,8-Oxide. 209 KB PDF,
2 pages. Evaluates styrene as "reasonably anticipated to be a human
carcinogen based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenic activity at multiple
tissue sites in multiple species of experimental animals."
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