=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #77
—May 16, 1988—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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PHYSICIANS REPORT MENTAL HARM FROM ORGANIC SOLVENT EXPOSURE.
Four physicians writing in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHSYCHIATRY
have reported three clinical studies of patients who developed
“recurrent symptoms that are indistinguishable from panic
attacks” as a result of exposure to organic chemical solvents.
Panic attacks are a medically defined condition involving
combinations of the following symptoms: confusion,
disorientation, lightheadedness, cold sweats, dry mouth,
palpitations of the heart, difficulty breathing, tremors,
fatigue, lethargy, muscle cramps, chest tightness, weakness, and
fear of dying. In each of the three reported cases, the panic
attacks first began when the individuals were exposed to solvents
on the job; the solvents involved were such things as methyl
ethyl ketone, toluene, paint thinner and paint fumes.
After the initial attack, these individuals each reported
subsequent attacks brought on by odors of common organic
compounds like paints and gasoline. The subsequent panic attacks
occurred with increasing intensity and became progressively
disabling. However, within a few months in each case the attacks
had ceased. The report makes the point that these panic attacks
brought on by exposure to organic solvents were not dose-related.
These are examples of “ecological illness”–individual responses,
perhaps something like an allergic reaction, to the presence of
exotic synthetic chemicals in the environment. As exposure of
the general public to chemicals increases, more such individual
medical problems must be anticipated.
See Stephen R. Dager and others, “Panic Disorder Precipitated by
Exposure to Organic Solvents in the Work Place,” AMERICAN JOURNAL
OF PSYCHIATRY, Vol. 144 (August, 1987), pgs. 1056-1058. Reprints
available from Dr. Dager, ZA-99, Harborview Medical Center, 325
9th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104; phone (206) 223-3000.
The Western Research Institute (WRI) in Laramie, Wyoming, has
developed a new laser technique for identifying chemical
contaminants in groundwater and in industrial waste streams. The
system uses an established principal, called Raman spectroscopy,
to identify individual chemicals. In Raman spectroscopy, a laser
beam is passed through a compound, which is then identified by
the scattered light, or Raman signal. Within six months the
Institute will have a workable system for monitoring groundwater
quality in the field (as opposed to in the laboratory) and in
industrial waste streams, according to Pat Sullivan, manager of
waste characterization and chemistry at the Institute.
For further information contact Pat Sullivan, WRI, P.O. Box 3395,
Laramie, WY 82071; phone (307) 721-2011.
–Peter Montague, Ph.D.
Descriptor terms: solvents; studies; findings; mental health;
panic disorders; occupational safety and health; ecological
illness; health; health statistics; wri; western research
institute; groundwater; lasers; raman spectroscopy; monitoring;