Follow-up study of the toxic effects of carbon disulfide in the occupational environment

Carbon disulfide is a volatile organic solvent currently used in large amounts only in the viscose industry. The negative effects of occupational exposure to CS2 on health parameters have been described at length. Despite the abundant literature, several contradictions remain unsolved, the doseeffect relationship being poorly understood. The prime reason for this is the lack of exposure measurement datasets of sufficient quality. Since 1978 our research group has been involved in interdisciplinary research on the toxic effects of occupational exposure to CS2 in a Belgian viscose factory. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was first performed. It revealed high levels of exposure for most job titles, exceeding by far the TLV-TWA value (31 mg/m). Moreover, medical investigations showed that 61% of the employees examined exhibited polyneuropathy or other signs of CS2 intoxication. Since this study, the factory management has introduced a number of technical adjustments to lower staff exposure to CS2 and thus to improve health conditions for the factory employees. The present study aimed to continue and extend the multidisciplinary study conducted in the nineteen-eighties. The problem was tackled from a twofold perspective. In the occupational hygiene part of the study, the efficacy of the technical measures taken was checked by means of an extensive sampling schedule of personal monitoring. In the epidemiological part, a follow-up study investigated the effect of exposure to low levels of CS2 on health parameters after years of high exposure. In addition, a new cross-sectional study was implemented with recently recruited employees having no history of exposure to high levels of CS2. The dose was estimated by biological monitoring.