Elevated cholinesterase activity and increased urinary excretion of inorganic fluorides in the workers producing fluorine-containing plastic (polytetrafluoroethylene).

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Fluoropolymers are widely used in thermal and electrical industries. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) plastic is a typical one. During its production, workers are occupationally exposed to many organic fluorides, especially tetrafluoroethylene, chlorodifluoromethane, PTFE and its thermal decomposition products. Of these compounds, it has been documented that following inhalation of combustion products of PTFE the focal hemorrhages, edema, fibrin deposition in lungs and renal infarcts were observed in rats. Odum and Green have demonstrated a marked damage to proximal tubule of kidney with no effects on the liver in rats exposed to 6000 ppm tetrafluoroethylene for 6 hr. The investigations of the hazards of these compounds to workers have been mainly focused on acute toxicity. There have been some reports that polymers and its pyrolysis caused polymer fume fever and pulmonary edema. In practice, workers engaged in PTFE manufacture are chronically exposed to the above-mentioned chemicals, but little was known about the hazards ascribed to these chemicals. To clarify the influences of the exposed chemicals on health in PTFE production we conducted a mass survey investigation in a PTFE production factory. As a result, in addition to the nephrotoxicity characterized by elevated ALP and NAG activities in urine, more interestingly, we have alsomore » found a reversible increase in cholinesterase (ChE) activity and enhanced urinary excretion of inorganic fluorides in workers engaged in PTFE production. We report here these findings and discuss their physiological significance. 18 refs., 4 tabs.« less