Varnishes, health effects

Angerer J, Wulf H. 1985. Occupational chronic exposure to organic solvents. XI. Alkylbenzene exposure of varnish workers Effects on hematopoietic system. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 56 307- 321. 

Abstract Indoor contamination is one source of exposure to toxic pollutants and has been classified as a high environmental risk. Epidemiological research linked health effects including childhood leukemia and neuroblastoma to the indoor occurrence of pesticides. Pesticides in indoor environments contribute to human exposure via inhalation, non dietary ingestion and dermal contact. Sources for pesticides indoors are direct applications, pesticides used in varnishes, colors, adhesives, etc., or in finishing textiles, leather, carpets, etc., and pesticides brought in from outdoors. Results for pesticides in indoor environments from different countries and obtained under different conditions are compiled in this chapter. They are discussed by applying two approaches (1) the comparison with reference values... 

Usually the effects of solvents in paints and varnishes on health are dependent on concentration and exposure time. Adverse health effects may follow exposure to paints, varnishes and flieir solvents at the workplace. The conditions at paint and lacquer manufacturing sites (e.g., manufacturing mefliods, use of exhaust hoods, etc.) are responsible for the levels of evaporated solvents measured in the air. Adverse health effects depend on how the paint is applied, paint properties and working conditions (e.g., increased risk with spray painting). There is sufficient evidence to substantiate the fact that solvents to which painters have been exposed, are responsible for incidences of cancer. However, within paint manufacturing plants, this evidence is inadequate. ... 

In addition to solvents, other compounds from paints and varnishes can cause various diseases, often similar to the effects caused by solvents (e.g., asbestos as paint filler or in the construction and shipyard industry, silica, dusts, thermal decomposition products, contaminations of solvents, chromium, iron and lead compounds in paint pigments). It is often difficult to associate a particular components of paints and varnishes with adverse health effects. In most cases, the paint and varnish products were found to be a relevant cause of illness, but their individual compounds were not. 

PCBs were once used in industrial applications, particularly as electrical insulating fluids and as heat-exchange fluids, until concern over possible adverse effects on the environment and on human health resulted in the cessation of PCBs production and an ultimate ban on manufacture in most countries. PCBs were discovered over 100 years ago and their production and commercial use began in 1929. Because of their remarkable electrical insulating properties and their flame resistance, they soon gained widespread use as insulators and coolants in transformers and other electrical equipment where these properties are essential. For several decades, PCBs were also routinely used in the manufacture of a wide variety of common products such as plastics, adhesives, paints, varnishes and carbonless copying paper [2], Despite their ban almost a quarter of a century ago, these pollutants are largely diffused in the environment. Their presence is mainly due to their... 

Toxicity Acute, prolonged exposure in workplaces has caused a variety of health disorders in workers (e.g., erythema, edema, skin peeling, loss of appetite, muscle weakness, paresthesia, CNS depression, peripheral nerve disorders, skin and respiratory irritation, chemical pneumonia in children).7 In addition, rubber solvents, varnish, thinners, and petroleum spirits cause skin irritation, respiratory problems, and hematologic effects in workers all demand proper handling and chemical safety. 

Now, the UVB radiation is likely to have harmful effects on the health of human beings causing melanomas, cataracts, erythemas, by decreasing the effectiveness of the immune system and causing genetic mutations it also affects animals and plants and is a cause of the ageing of plastics, paints and varnishes. 

EFFECTS ON HEALTH OF SOLVENTS FROM PAINTS AND VARNISHES... 

The manuscript entitled A Recommended Standard for Occupational Exposure to Refined Petroleum Solvents from the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Center for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, July 1977, recommended standards to be applied to occupational exposure of workers to the following refinery petroleum solvents petroleum ether, rubber solvent, varnish maker s and painter s naphtha, mineral spirits, Stoddard solvents, and kerosene are all included in the term refined petroleum solvents. According to these standards petroleum ether and rubber solvents which contain 1.5% benzene, varnish maker s and painter s naphtha which contain 1.5% benzene, mineral spirits which contain 13-19% aromatics, Stoddard solvent which contains 0.1% benzene, 140 Flash Aliphatic Solvent which contains 0.7% benzene, kerosene. NIOSH indicated that some ofthe refined petroleum solvents contain aromatic hydrocarbons including, in some cases, benzene. Standards were applied, among others, to reduce the benzene exposure. Among others, the use of respirators and skin protective devices were required to protect from the effects of the solvents, as well as the benzene component. In his testimony in front of the Occupational Safety and Health... 

Exposure to harmful paint, lacquer and varnish components depends, to a great extent, on the techniques by which the products are applied to the surfaces being coated, and also on a worker s dexterity, skill and knowledge about the contents of the coating materials. Careful work without skin contact is usually promoted by awareness of the skin-sensitizing or irritating properties of paints, lacquers and varnishes and their other hazardous effects on health. 

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