No acute behavioural effects of exposure to styrene: a safe level of exposure?

To determine whether exposure to low levels of styrene (below 110 mg/m3) causes acute behavioural effects and symptoms that may be related to concentrations of styrene in air or urinary mandelic acid or both, 12 men occupationally exposed to styrene were studied and compared with a reference group of 10 unexposed men. Simple reaction time was measured before and after work and information about symptoms was obtained by questionnaire. Active and passive sampling of airborne styrene was carried out and urinary mandelic acid concentrations were measured. Although the size of the study groups is small, the results indicate that exposure to styrene below 110 mg/m3 does not cause any acute adverse effects on the central nervous system.