Carbon disulphide

Abstract

To evaluate risk factors for coronary heart disease and factors which can influence the course of acute myocardial infarction in workers exposed to CS2 we performed a cross-sectional study of 247 workers in the viscose industry. The control group of 222 men from the same plant was comparable for age, social status and physical work. The CS2 exposure determined by personal air sampling ranged from < 0.2 ppm to 65.7 ppm (median: 4.0 ppm) and the duration of exposure ranged from 4 to 220 (median: 66) months. Using a multiple linear regression model we found neither higher blood pressure at rest or after exercise, nor hyperlipoproteinaemia in a higher degree, nor lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or lower apolipoprotein A-I levels, nor higher blood glucose values, nor indicators of direct cardiotoxic effects or signs of disturbances in blood coagulation in the exposed group in comparison to controls. Regarding the influence of chronic exposure on the investigated parameters, we found an inverse correlation of the cumulative exposure (mean CS2 exposure in the department multiplied by the duration of work in this department) with the HDL concentration. The HDL levels correlated with the duration but not with the intensity of exposure. In the same way the apolipoprotein A-I levels showed a negative association with the duration of exposure in the exposed group as well as in the control group. The HDL concentrations showed the same trend for the controls. It therefore seems that this finding is more likely due to confounding factors than to the CS2 exposure. As all subjects (exposed and controls) have done shift work, in some cases for a long time, this kind of work could be responsible for the negative relationship between the duration of employment as a shift worker and the apolipoprotein A-I and HDL levels. At the current air-borne levels no significant differences were found between the exposed persons and the controls in the distribution frequency for blood pressure values, lipoproteins, blood glucose, blood coagulation and indicators of direct cardiotoxic effects.

Critical review of the epidemiological literature on the potential cardiovascular effects of occupational carbon disulfide exposure

“…The remaining studies in this group [1,6,20,21,22,39] are the strongest methodologically and are nearly consistent in reporting a lack of association between CS 2 and increased blood pressure. These studies also fail to show a consistent positive relationship between exposure to CS 2 and angina, abnormal ECG, CHD prevalence, and serum HDL and LDL cholesterol levels.…”

“…A 1995 study by Drexler et al [6] included 247 men of German and Turkish origin who were exposed to CS 2 after 1975, when the German maximum allowable Kotseva Participation rates were 100% for exposed, 46% for unexposed, suggesting selection bias c Exposed group = 5% female, unexposed group=41% female; there is likely to be residual confounding by gender in the multivariable model. That there were 34 participants with abnormal ECG findings indicates the multiple logistic regression model should include maximum of four parameters, but eight parameters were included, suggesting a lack of statistical power d Odds ratio (95% confidence interval) workplace concentration was reduced from 20 ppm to 10 ppm (Table 3).…”

“…The four strongest studies of the cardiac effect of low levels of CS 2 exposure included multivariate adjustment for important confounders, analysis of dose-response patterns in the data, and categorization of CS 2 exposure according to jobs or job categories with quantitative exposure estimates based on ambient air and/or personal measures [6,20,21,22]. Table 3, which is organized by outcome, presents the key characteristics of these studies, including results of the best-controlled analyses from each report.…”

“…The sensitivity of their measures was supported by statistically significant associations detected between blood lipids and age, body mass, and pack-years of smoking. Restriction of the study population to those employed after 1975 allowed the authors to explore the potential association between low levels of CS 2 exposure and CHD risk factors in a population that had no history of exposure to CS 2 at higher levels [6].…”

Production of Dissolving Grade Pulps from Wood and Non-Wood Paper-Grade Pulps by Enzymatic and Chemical Pretreatments

“…It has been reported that the emission of pollutants into the surroundings can arise from CS 2 used in many ways during the viscose process (6). For humans, carbon disulfide has been described to be a risk factor for many illnesses (58). As a result, it is important to develop new means to decrease the use of this reagent.…”