Impaired Color Discrimination Among Viscose Rayon Workers Exposed to Carbon Disulfide

A possible effect of chronic carbon disulfide exposure on the optic nerve was studied by giving the Farnsworth Munsell 100-Hue Test for color discrimination to 62 exposed and 40 nonexposed men. Carbon disulfide exposure did not relate to specific pattern defects in color discrimination, but impaired color discrimination occurred significantly more often in the exposed group than among the referents. The abnormal findings suggest an impairment in the receptiveness of the ganglion cells or demyelination of the optic nerve fibers.