n-Hexane polyneuropathy in a ball-manufacturing factory

J Occup Med. 1991 Feb;33(2):139-42.

Abstract

Five overt and two occult cases of n-hexane polyneuropathy occurred in a ball-manufacturing factory in Taiwan. The severity of polyneuropathy was directly related to the index of n-hexane exposure that occurred during the processes of cement coating and nylon fiber winding in a poorly ventilated room. The n-hexane concentrations over eight hours of personal sampling of the air of the cement coating and nylon fiber winding areas were 109 ppm and 86 ppm, respectively. After installation of a new factory ventilation system, these seven patients recovered completely, and there were no new cases in the two-year follow-up.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Air Pollutants, Occupational / adverse effects*
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Female
  • Hexanes / adverse effects*
  • Humans
  • Neuromuscular Diseases / chemically induced
  • Occupational Diseases / chemically induced*
  • Polyneuropathies / chemically induced*

Substances

  • Air Pollutants, Occupational
  • Hexanes
  • n-hexane