Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Accrylamide Using Hemoglobin Adducts as Biomarkers of Internal Dose

The health impacts of exposure to the chemical grouting agent acrylamide were assessed in 210 tunnel workers exposed to the chemical grouting agent for a two-month period. Fifty of those workers had complaints related to deterioration of the periperhal nervous system. Workers with elevated levels of hemoglobin adducts had examinations for up to 18 months after exposure was complete. Of the 210 workers, only 47 had Hb-adduct levels in the normal range. There was a direct correlation between Hb-adduct levels and PNS symptoms. The use of Hb adducts of acrylamide as a biomarker affirmed the dose-response associations. In most cases, the PNS symptoms were mild and reversable.