[Dynamics of the intellectual changes in workers exposed to long-term effect of carbon dioxide]. / Dynamika zmian intelektualnych u pracowników narazonych na przewlekle dzialanie dwusiarczku wegla.

In workers exposed for many years to carbon disulphide toxic effects of this substance on the central nervous system can be observed. These effects manifest themselves in intellectual function disorders. The aim of the present study was to answer the following questions: a) does the whole period of exposure to CS2 seriously affect a decrease in intellectual efficiency level, b) what is the dynamics of these changes in relation to the exposure duration? For the purpose of a study which included 120 employees of plants producing artificial fibres who were exposed to CS2 for a long time the following techniques were used: Wechsler's Intelligence Scale for Adults, A. L. Benton's Visual Memory Test, T.;. Graham and B. S. Kendall's Memory-for-Design Test and L. Bender's Visual Motor Gestalt Test. The results obtained indicate that: a) rate of decrease in intellectual functions level depends on exposure duration and concerns those workers who had been exposed to CS2 for about 30 years; b) serious disorders are observed in such skills as: acoustic and visual memory, symbolic thinking, ability to plan and anticipate events, graphomotoric functions and mental work rate.

[Use of subjective symptom measurements in evaluating the health effects of exposure of workers to neurotoxic compounds]. / Zastosowanie pomiaru subiektywnych symptomów do oceny skutków zdrowotnych ekspozycji pracowników na zwiazki neurotoksyczne.

To evaluate early health effects in workers exposed to neurotoxic compounds, symptomatological questionnaires have been extensively applied recently. These measure subjective symptoms, i.e. indicators of the central nervous system dysfunction caused by hazards. With the symptomatological questionnaire, called the Questionnaire of Subjective Symptoms, developed by H. Hänninen et al. and adjusted to the Polish conditions, workers of dry-cleaning laundry exposed to tetrachloroethylene and workers of wet-cleaning laundry (controls) have been examined. The results have demonstrated that those exposed to tetrachloroethylene complained more frequently of neurological disturbances of lower and upper limbs, as compared to controls. When compared to Finnish workers, Polish subjects present much more complaints related to all symptoms.