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      An unusual case of organophosphate intoxication of a worker in a plastic bottle recycling plant: an important reminder.

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          Abstract

          A young man was sent to our emergency unit because he had suffered from vomiting and cold sweating for 2 days. At the time he was admitted, he had no acute abdominal pains or gastrointestinal symptoms, and a physical examination revealed nothing but a faster heart rate and moist, flushing skin. The patient had worked for 6 years at a plastic bottle-recycling factory, but none of his co-workers had the same symptoms. Nevertheless, because the plant also recycled pesticide bottles, we suspected organophosphate pesticide intoxication. The patient's plasma acetylcholinesterase level was checked, revealing 1498.6 microU/L (normal range: 2,000-5, 000) on the first day and 1,379 microU/L on the second day. Upon questioning, the patient recalled that one of his shoe soles had been damaged and that his foot had been wet from walking all day in rain collected on the factory floor on the day that his symptoms first occurred. We conducted a study in the change of preshift and postshift acetylcholinesterase levels among six of his co-workers on a rainy day. We used the Wilcoxon signed rank test to compare the preshift and postshift plasma acetylcholinesterase levels; no significant difference was revealed (p = 0.600), leaving contamination via the damaged shoe sole suspect. We reviewed the literature on organophosphate intoxication; pesticide bottle-recycling factories were reported to be at a low risk of organophosphate toxicity in the working environment. However, because the potential risk of intoxication is still present, protective equipment such as clothing, gloves, and water-proof shoes should be worn, and employees should be educated on the potential risks.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Environ Health Perspect
          Environmental Health Perspectives
          0091-6765
          November 2000
          : 108
          : 11
          : 1103-1105
          Affiliations
          Department of Family Medicine, Yuan's General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
          Article
          sc271_5_1835
          1240170
          11102304
          0ff60306-6568-4c79-9464-d76f186b8feb
          History
          Categories
          Research Article

          Public health
          Public health

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