[Preventive examinations in the rotogravure printing industry]

One hundred and sixty rotogravure printing workers exposed mainly to toluene are compared (clinical examination, liver and kidney tests) to 38 unexposed workers. The exposure to toluene is assessed by personal air sampling at the workplace (mean: 54 ppm) and by analysis of hippuric acid in urine (mean: 1.86 g/g creatinine). Fatigue, alcohol intolerance, mouth dryness appear more frequently among the exposed subjects. Differences observed in liver tests are difficult to relate to toluene exposure. The additional eight-year health surveillance of 18 workers shows no significant changes in liver and kidney functions.