[Retrospective study of morbidity in a group professionally exposed to chlorotriazine herbicides]

Two different groups of workers involved, during the last 10 years, in the production or formulation of chlorotriazine herbicides have been retrospectively studied in order to verify the occurrence of diseases possibly related to Atrazine, Simazine, Propazine and Terbuthylazine exposure. A control group has been selected between clerical workers of the same plants. Exposure data have been collected during the last five years and some extrapolations have been performed to hypothesize the level of exposure in the preceeding years. Clinical findings and laboratory data obtained from ten year medical surveillance records have been evaluated to highlight possible differences between the investigated groups. A first close examination of the data concerning the anamnesis and clinical, hematochemical and functional reports of the three groups of investigated subjects does not show any pathological situation or symptoms specifically connected to chlorotriazine compounds exposure and/or significant differences between exposed and non exposed. A next series of statistical surveys involving some of the hematochemical indicators (RBC, WBC, Hb%, SGOT, SGPT, gamma GT) has been performed either on internal values of each group or on the average-values of the three groups differently exposed (production, formulation, control). The first survey was a longitudinal study, the second one was a cross sectional one. Both the investigations have excluded significant differences attributable to the occupational exposure.