2001
What did we find?
NIOSH found the following results when comparing termiticide applicators
who applied chlorpyrifos to those persons in a comparison
group who were not termiticide applicators:
- The applicators did not differ significantly from the comparison
group for any test in the clinical exam.
- The applicators did not differ significantly from the comparison
group for most of the 40 subclinical tests. The applicators
performed significantly worse, however, on the pegboard
turning (hand flexibility) and postural sway (body movement
with eyes closed) tests.
- The applicators reported significantly more symptoms than the
comparison group. These symptoms included memory problems,
emotional states, fatigue, and loss of muscular strength.
- The eight applicators reporting having been poisoned by chlorpyrifos
scored significantly lower on many of the clinical and sub-clinical
tests than the comparison group.
- We did not find any effect of being in one genetic group or
another.
Why did we do the study?
NIOSH did the study because some earlier studies suggested that working with chlorpyrifos:
- Is one of the leading causes of acute insecticide poisoning incidents
- May cause chronic neurologic effects
How did we do the study?
In 1998, NIOSH conducted a variety of tests on the nervous system
from 2 groups of persons. One group consisted of termiticide
applicators who applied chlorpyrifos-containing insecticides
to kill termites. The other group did not work with chlorpyrifos
and was used as a comparison group. We checked the neurologic
function in each person by
- conducting clinical exams of the nervous system performed by two neurologists.
The exam consisted of observation of eye movement, tremor,
coordination, muscle tone, strength, sensation, and reflexes.
- conducting over 40 sub-clinical tests of nerve conduction velocity,
arm/hand tremor, sensitivity to vision, smell, motor skills,
or skills of memory and attention span
- looking at the level of TCP, a breakdown product of chlorpyrifos,
in the urine
- performing a genetic test to see if some people are more susceptible
to neurologic effects of chlorpyrifos
Remember what we found
- Applicators had no clinical effects on the medical exam compared to
non-applicators.
- Applicators had few differences on sub-clinical tests compared to non-applicators.
- Applicators had more self reported symptoms compared to non-applicators.
- Applicators who reported past poisoning scored lower on many tests.
Applicators should take every effort not to accidentally
be exposed to a large amount of chlorpyrifos.
Contact Information
Thank You
Thank you very much for participating in the NIOSH study of termiticide
applicators who applied chlorpyrifos containing insecticides
to kill termites. If you have any questions regarding the
study, feel free to write to either:
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
Raleigh, NC 27626
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
4676 Columbia Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45226
To receive the study report, NIOSH documents, or more information
about occupational safety and health topics, contact NIOSH
at
NIOSH Publications
4676 Columbia Parkway
Cincinnati, Oh 45226-1998
Phone: 1-800-356-4674
Fax: 513-533-8573
E-mail: pubstaft@cdc.gov
Web site: www.cdc.gov/niosh