Gasoline can cause visual problems for gas station attendants, says study
Gasoline solvents can be the cause of visual problems, such as difficulty distinguishing colors.
When we think of risky professions, certain unhealthy jobs come to mind, such as a circus trainer, firefighter, subsea well driller and others. Some jobs have to be regulated and have a reduced workload, due to the worker's exposure to radioactive elements (such as cesium). Radiology technicians – who work 20 hours a week – are a typical example.
But, did you know that the profession of gas station attendant can also pose health risks? One of the risks of exposure to gasoline, according to a survey conducted by the University of São Paulo (USP), which analyzed a group of 25 gas station attendants, significant visual losses were observed in these professionals. Deficiencies detected are related to the inability to distinguish colors.
In order to reach such a conclusion, the attendants were submitted to a new methodology capable of detecting problems that an eye exam could not. The tests have also been applied to patients who have been exposed to mercury and to patients with diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.
The reason why the attendants had such problems is the daily exposure to gasoline solvents, such as benzene, toluene and xylene. There is no normative control (as in the case of radiology technicians) on this, despite the existence of studies that recommend safety limits related to exposure to solvents (however, in isolation).
Results
Any structural changes in the volunteers' corneas were ruled out by eye exams. However, in the psychophysical tests, the performance of the attendants was inferior to that of the analyzed control group. For researchers, the impact on vision may be a consequence of neurological damage caused by toxic substances in the fuel. This is worrisome, because if solvents are actually affecting these people's brains, it's not just their eyesight that will be harmed.
The person responsible for the research, Master's student Thiago Costa, warns that other categories of workers may suffer visual loss from chronic exposure to organic solvents, such as employees in the printing and paint industries.
Therefore, it is necessary to debate the use of alternative materials that do not contain such heavy chemistry and also to discuss the implementation of other energy matrices, such as electrical, for automobiles.
Source: FAPESP Agency
Search: Plos One
Image: Carlos Augusto - Jornal Grande Bahia
