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Occupational Neurotoxicity of Organic Solvents
Citation:
Van Thriel, C. AND W. Boyes. Occupational Neurotoxicity of Organic Solvents. Chapter 5, Roberto G. Lucchini, Michael Aschner, Lucio G. Costa (ed.), Advances in Neurotoxicology. ELSEVIER, AMSTERDAM, Holland, 7:133-202, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.ant.2022.05.004
Impact/Purpose:
This is an invited chapter on the neurotoxicity of organic solvents for a book on occupational neurotoxicity. The chapter is relevant to many EPA programs since organic solvents are also volatile organic pollutants and respresent a large proportion of the Hazardous Air Pollutants emitted into the atmosphere with hundreds of thousands of Americals being exposed. In addition, volatile organic solvents are emitted into indoor air from many commercial products. Also volatile hydrocarbons are emmited in large quantities as evaporative emmissions from automotive and other mobil sources. In particular VOCs represent a substantial component of the emissions from 3D printers, along with ultrafine particulats which to date have received greater attention in the area of new technologies. This review chapter should be useful to multiple EPA programs for which exposures to organic solvents, VOCs or hydrocarbon vapors may be a concern.
Description:
Organic solvents are a diverse set of chemicals and chemical mixtures that are among the most widely used class of chemicals in industry and commerce. Many solvents are volatile leading to a risk of inhalation exposure. Typically, solvents are also highly lipid soluble and readily partition into lipid-rich brain tissue. In the nervous system, solvents act acutely to alter the function of multiple ligand-gated and voltage-gated nerve membrane ion channels to cause acute neurological dysfunctions, behavioral impairments, and eventually generalized CNS depression. The momentary solvent concentration in the brain determines the strength of these acute effects. Upon repeated or chronic exposures, organic solvents can also reduce neuronal plasticity, generate reactive oxygen species, disrupt nerve membrane integrity, increase intracellular calcium, induce neuroinflammation and potentially cause long-term impairments. Chronic occupational exposures to organic solvents have been linked to impairments of cognitive function, mood, memory, vision, and hearing. Hearing deficits are augmented by co-exposures to noise. Peripheral neuropathy and developmental neurotoxicity are also concerns. In this chapter, types of organic solvents, their uses, mode of actions, and the evidence for acute and chronic exposures to produce neurotoxic effects in humans and laboratory animals are discussed.
