COMBINED EXPOSURE TO ORGANIC-SOLVENTS - AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH USING ACETONE AND ETHYL-ACETATE

The effects of exposure to organic solvents, additive mechanisms, as well as inductive or inhibitory processes can be understood as the basis of interactional effects of the single compounds in solvent mixtures. The design of acute exposure experiments has to take into consideration these mechanisms measuring neurobehavioural effects. Acetone and ethyl acetate often used as components of glues were investigated experimentally as an example of typical exposure to solvent mixtures. Sixteen male volunteers were exposed for four hours to the German maximum allowable workplace concentrations for single substances, and to half of both concentrations for the combined exposure. A control exposure experiment was carried out in non-contaminated air in the exposure laboratory. No performance deficits in simple and choice reaction time, or in short-term memory according to Sternberg were detected during and after the exposure. Irritations during the exposure measured by questionnaire, and ratings of complaints during and after exposure indicate effects of the single and combined substances. The results of subjective symptoms support the assumption of additivity of the single substances.