Ono, Y; Takeuchi, Y; Hisanaga, N; Goto, H
Petroleum benzine is one of the standardized industrial gasolines in Japan and is widely used as a cleaning solvent for precision machines and garments, as a fuel for lighter, etc. So-called benzines have been reported to be toxic to the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, gastro-intestinal system, hematopoietic system and other organs, but many of the reported benzines were not analysed and might have many different components among them. Therefore, toxicity of the petroleum benzine which is standardized as industrial gasoline in Japan has not been made clear enough yet. a case of polyneuropathy was found in a worker who had been using the petroleum benzine. Components of this petroleum benzine were analysed, and the relationship of this agent to his health disorders being affected also by other working conditions was investigated. The case: male, aged 42 (1977). He was engaged in cleaning used gas meters with petroleum benzine. He had burning sensations in his legs 5 months after the beinning of the cleaning work. a month later he began to suffer from general fatigue and tinnitus, his headache became worse. Eleven months after the beginning of the work, muscle weakness and dysesthesia in distal portion of his legs and arms were noticed. By neurological examination, pain, vibration and touch sensations were found to be dominantly impaired in the distal portion of the extremities. Electromyo-gram revealed neurogenic changes in the extremities. The patient was engaged in cleaning gas meters for about 3. 5 hours per day with the petroleum benzine, which was consumed at 360-450 l per month. Concentrations of the petroleum benzine vapor in the workroom were determined by gas liquid chromatography. They were 180-2, 820 mg/m3 (about 50-800 ppm. and w-hexanes in them were 10-180 ppm under the worker's nose. There was no local exhaust ventilator for the worker. His symptoms seemed to become worse with increase of the cleaning work and any other cause for his symptoms was not found. The similar symptoms haHd been reported by other authors in some cases poisoned by the petroleum benzine or so-called benzines. Therefore, his health disorder was considered to be caused chiefly by the petroleum benzine. It was suspected that in addition to n-hexane, other components in the petroleum benzine might have some neurotoxicity, since concentrations of n-hexane in his workplace were not so high. In Japan, the petroleum benzine is used in large quantities in industry, but it is legally classified into the third grade group of organic solvents and its TLV is not established yet because of a mixed organic solvent. It is considered that the preventive measure must be improved and much warning must be given about the toxicity of the petroleum benzine. © 1980, Japan Society for Occupational Health. All rights reserved.