R.B.
Dick and P. Grubb
NIOSH Education and Information Division
Agriculture
is the primary source of income for an estimated 4.5 million
Americans, a significant proportion of whom are children.
Working in an agricultural environment exposes workers to
numerous chemical, physical, and biological hazards that may
cause either temporary or permanent damage to the nervous
system. In the past few years neurobehavioral testing has
afforded investigators the tools to test worker populations
exposed to chemicals and metals for nervous system toxicities.
Several neurobehavioral test batteries have been developed
and are presently being used to test worker populations. These
popular test batteries, however, have concentrated more on
testing cognitive functions rather than motor or sensory functions.
Motor and sensory functions are more apt to be impaired in
agricultural environments due to the specific sites of action
of many agricultural chemicals (e.g., pesticides) on the nervous
system.
This
presentation will describe the sensory and motor tests (e.g.,
reaction time, olfaction, vision, audition, vibration, temperature,
tremor, postural stability) that are being developed at NIOSH
for assessing pesticide-induced impairment. The tests will
be evaluated using two groups of subjects. The first group
will be chosen to represent the general work population, and
will be used to determine norms and test-retest reliability
for each test. The second group of subjects will consist of
termite exterminators and will be used to evaluate the validity
of the tests in detecting pesticide effects. This second group
will be actively employed in applying the insecticide chlorpyrifos;
blood and urine samples will be collected to estimate acute
exposure. Results of the study will be used to identify sensitive
tests for detecting sensory and motor impairment in agricultural
populations exposed to neurotoxic chemicals. Tests that can
detect early neurotoxic health effects can be used to:
- reduce
or eliminate exposures to neurotoxic chemicals and metals;
- prevent
additional exposures in affected populations; and,
- identify
workers for whom intervention procedures may be successful
in reducing or preventing the onset of chronic ailments.
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
research abstract was extracted from a portion of the proceedings
of "Agricultural Safety and Health: Detection, Prevention and
Intervention," a conference presented by the Ohio State University
and the Ohio Department of Health, sponsored by the Centers
for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health.
The
authors noted above are from: Both at NIOSH, Cincinnati, OH
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