Event overview
Dr. Sarah Mackenzie Ross, Department of Psychology, University College London
Title: Workplace exposure to toxic substances: From the farmers field, to the airfield, to the battlefield
Abstract:
Organophosphate chemicals are increasingly used around the world for a variety of agricultural, domestic (pesticides), industrial (anti-wear additives) and military purposes (chemical weapons) and concerns have been expressed about the effects of these chemicals on human health. A high incidence of physical and psychological symptoms have been reported by sheep farmers who use pesticides, but few clinical studies have been undertaken in the UK to explore this further. To determine the nature and extent of neurobehavioural problems following low level exposure to organophosphate pesticides, a cross-sectional study was undertaken in which performance on neuropsychological tests of 132 sheep farmers with a history of exposure to pesticides was compared with 79 non-exposed healthy volunteers. Exposed subjects perform significantly worse than controls on tests of response speed, memory functioning, mental flexibility and fine motor control. A number of significant correlations were observed between exposure variables and verbal and visual memory, verbal fluency, response speed and fine motor control. Both correlation and group analyses suggest a relationship may exist between low level exposure to organophosphates and impaired neurobehavioural functioning. Findings from other occupational groups exposed to OPs (i.e. commercial airline pilots and military personnel) will also be discussed.
http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/psychology/dept-seminar-series.php
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Feb 2009 | 4:00pm - 5:15pm |
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