CLINICAL-DATA ON 3 CASES OF OCCUPATIONALLY INDUCED PCB-INTOXICATION

Since the ban of PCBs at the end of the 1970s, extensive measures have been undertaken in Germany to dispose of PCB contaminated transformer s. We report on three patients with considerable skin exposure to PCBs , in particular to Clophen A 30, while repairing or dismounting transf ormers. The periods of exposure range from 4 and 5 to 20 years. All pa tients presented with distal- symmetrical sensorimotor polyneuropathy as well as encephalopathy. In one of the cases, the neuropathy and enc ephalopathy progressed for a period of over 8 years after termination of exposure. In the two other cases the neurological deficits persiste d over an observed period of 2-3 years. The reported clinical results may suggest that the long half- life of Clophen and its accumulation i n fatty tissue can lead to persistence of PNS and CNS impairment long after the period of exposure. (C) 1996 Inter Press, Inc.