ABSENCE OF SYMPTOMS IN SILVER REFINERS WITH RAISED BLOOD SILVER LEVELS

Silver has been implicated as a cause of ill health, related largely t o its use in the medical setting as a treatment for burns and in prost hetic cements. This report discusses occupational silver exposure in t wo workers with blood silver levels of 49 mu g/l and 74 mu g/l who wer e asymptomatic and showed no signs of argyric neuropathy which has pre viously been described at blood silver levels as low as 10 mu g/l. One of the men showed non-characteristic clinical signs of argyrosis. The clinical findings, results of environmental monitoring and effects of environmental improvements on blood silver levels are discussed.