Objective: This cross-sectional study investigates the cardiovascular effects among Chinese workers who were occupationally exposed to carbon disulfide (CS2), and evaluates the protective value of the current Chinese Maximum Allowable Concentration (MAC) of CS2 against cardiovascular effects.
Methods: The measurements of exposure were performed by personal sampling and gas chromatography. The biological monitoring was performed by HPLC. Three hundred and sixty-seven exposed workers and 125 reference workers (never exposed to CS2,) were included in this study. The exposed workers were divided into 2 sub-groups according to their cumulative exposure indices, the cut-off point being at 100 which means 10 years exposure to the Chinese Maximum Allowable Concentration in the workplace (10 mg/m3). All subjects were examined using a self-administered questionnaire including medical and job history, clinical complaints in the previous three months, and underwent a clinical check-up and a 12 lead electrocardiography (ECG) at rest, coded according to the Minnesota code. Blood pressure (BP) was recorded and blood samples were collected for lipid measurements.
Results: The personal monitoring showed that the exposures levels (15.47 +/- 2.34 mg/m3) were below the Threshold Limit Value (TLV, 31 mg/m3), and most of the samples analyzed still showed higher values than the Chinese MAC (10 mg/m3). Clinical complaints and abnormal electrocardiograms were not significantly increased in exposed workers. No significant effect of CS2 on blood pressure, cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol or triglycerides was found. Further studies are recommended to elucidate the mechanism of cardiac intoxication after CS2 exposure.
Conclusion: This study showed that Chinese workers exposed to CS2 did not have more clinical complaints, nor more ECG abnormalities than controls and no adverse effects were found in their lipids at an exposure level below the current TLV. The present results indicate that differences of health effects reported worldwide are possibly due to different exposure levels. They also indicate that the current Chinese MAC (10 mg/m3) sufficiently protects workers against negative cardiovascular effects.