Psychological effects upon exposure to polyhalogenated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans

Thirty workers who had been exposed to combustion products for several year s due to testing of flame retarding qualities of building materials and 30 controls from the same facility were investigated. Concentrations found in samples taken from different places of the facility were up to 14,660 mu g/ kg for polybrominated dibenzofurans and up to 67.1 mu g/kg for polychlorina ted dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Physical examination, routine laboratory parameters, and blood fat concentrations of PCDDs and P CDFs revealed normal findings. Neurotoxic symptoms showed a weak tendency o f overrepresentation among the exposed workers. The frequency of neurobehav ioural symptoms increased significantly with trait anxiety independent of e xposure to combustion products. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.