(STUDY OF NEUROBEHAVIORAL EFFECTS AMONG WORKERS IN PRINTING INDUSTRY (MENOUFIYA GOVERNORATE

Abstract

This work aimed at studying the neurobe avioral effects among workers in printing industry in Menoufiya Governorate, studying the relationship between these neurobehavioral effects and clinical and laboratory findings related to exposure and other confounding factors and assessment of the work environment. Interviewing personal, occupational, family, past medical and reproductive histories in addition to clinical medical and neurological examinations, psychometric assessment and laboratory investigation of urine and blood samples were carried out for one hundred male workers occupationally exposed to lead. Fifty subjects (never occupationally exposed to lead) working in administrative departments in faculty of Arts (Menoufiya UI1iversity) were taken as a control group and matched for age, sex, socioeconomic status and educati --levei.-Moreover, the workplace was assessed by measuring the concentration of lead in the working environmental to which all studied subjects were exposed in different sites and the mean levels were calculated. It was clear that the concentration of environmental lead in working environment was obviously lower than the TLV recommended by ASTDR (2001) (being 0.05 mg!m\ was significantly higher than that of controls environment (P<O.OS), which consequently reflects its impact on the significant higher BLL among the former than that among the latter (P<O.OO I).