A Cluster of Neurological Signs and Symptoms in Soil Fumigators

Abstract

Methyl bromide (CH 3 Br) is a practically odourless, highly toxic and penetrating volatile aliphatic hydrocarbon derivative that has been widely used in agriculture as a fumigant against rodents, insects, mites, and a range of pathogenic organisms in soil, compost, and timber. According to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, it should have been phased-out of from use in developed countries by 1 January 2005. However, since an effective substitute does not exist, and its elimination would cause many problems in agricultural industries that are still heavily reliant on its use , it is still being employed for many purposes. Methyl bromide exposure can cause skin, kidney, and respiratory, liver and neurological damage in workers. Fatal and non-fatal poisoning accidents have been reported since 1948 and are still common both in developed 5) and in developing countries . Long-lasting neurological consequences resulting from occupational accidents are also well known and . To our knowledge, however, no long-term prospective study of exposed workers has ever been published, and the effects of prolonged, low-dose occupational exposure are seldom reported. Regular medical examination of exposed workers has been obligatory in Italy since 1956, and exposure assessment and biological monitoring of workers in compliance with European directives, have been required only since 2002. These regulations are not, however, always fully enforced in agriculture. Here we report a cluster of cases of neurological signs and symptoms of varying severity, in a sample of farm workers from the same company who were employed as fumigators to vaporising CH 3 Br in greenhouses or open fields.