| IJOMEH
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Current website - http://ijomeh.eu
Int. J. Occup. Med. Environ Health 2007;20(4):309-314 |
DOI 10.2478/v10001-007-0032-2 |
MARIOLA ŚLIWINSKA-KOWALSKA |
Abstract
The chemical sector is the third largest industry in Europe. There is
increasing evidence from epidemiological and clinical studies that
occupational exposures to organic solvents may have detrimental effect
on hearing. Most of the literature data concern one of the three
following types of exposure to industrial solvents: mixed solvent
exposure (the most common type); styrene-only exposure; and
toluene-only exposure. This paper overviews the effects of industrial
exposure to a mixture of organic solvents on hearing, with special
regard to the dose-response relationship. Although the existing data
make it difficult to derive a correlation between solvent concentration
and hearing outcome, the current occupational exposure limits for
solvents seem to be inadequate with respect to the effect that solvents
may have on the auditory system.
Key words
Paint and lacquer industry, Petroleum refinery, Jet fuel exposure, Dockyards, Risk of hearing loss![](images/buttons/buynum_blue_EN.gif)