Neurological disorders in three workers exposed to 1-bromopropane

A 35-yr-old female worker developed sore throat, stumbling, dysphagia, incontinence of urination and numbness with a burning sensation in the legs, thighs, hips and lower back as well as numbness in the perineum. She was spraying a glue to compose a cushion with polyurethane foam parts. One year after beginning to use a glue containing mainly 1-bromopropane, she became unable to stand up by herself. The second case, a 30-yr-old female worker developed a staggering gait, paresthesia, urinary incontinence, slurred voice, dysphagia, numbness or paresthesia in the hands, legs, lower back, hips and perineum, six months after beginning the same task. The third case, a 50-yr-old female worker showed signs of staggering, and numbness and paresthesias in the feet, thighs, lower back and hips, and headache, two months after starting the work. The daily time-weighted average of exposure concentrations ranged from 60 to 261 ppm (mean 133, N=11) after the ventilation was improved. The common signs in the three workers were staggering, numbness with paresthesia/dysesthesia, as well as a remarkable decrease in vibration sense in the legs and various symptoms in the central nervous system. Abnormal sensation was distributed to the area covered by pantyhose, rather than glove-stocking. Not only peripheral nerves, but also the spinal cord or brainstem was suspected to be impaired, given the paresthesia/dysesthesia and the distribution of sense deficits. Their diarrhea, incontinence of urination and abnormal sweating also suggested disorders in the autonomous nervous system. 1-Bromopropane might induce neurological disorders in the peripheral nerves and/or the central nervous system in humans.