Health effects of manganese exposures for welders in Qingdao City, China

Abstract

Objectives: To document if manganese from welding causes health effects including neurological symptoms associated with manganese exposure. Material and Methods: An anonymous questionnaire survey for a total of 505 welders at 3 welding facilities in Qingdao City, China was administered and analyzed. Results: Numerous symptoms were reported by the welders including difficulty with eyes for 43% of them, sore throat for 30% of them, and tremors were reported by over 18% of them. Tremors were associated with longer periods of work as a welder and correlated with the relative cleanliness at the 3 different facilities. Tremors did not correlate with smoking. Conclusions: Manganese-exposed welders reported a variety of symptoms related to work and showed neurological disturbances that correlated with amount of exposure. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(2):241–247

Keywords

• welding fumes
• neurologic symptoms
• hand tremor
• eye symptoms
• manganese exposure
• welding materials