Validation of a neurobehavioral test system. Final report
The study attempted to validate tests from the computerized Neurobehavioral Evaluation System (NES) for use in field investigations where repeated testing of the same subjects is required. Personal samples of styrene (100425) in the breathing zone air and post shift urinary mandelic-acid (90642) were collected for 116 workers in six fiberglass boat building companies located in New England. The average exposure to styrene was 4.6 years with an 8 hour time weighted average styrene exposure of 29.9 parts per million (ppm) and urinary mandelic-acid averaging 490 milligrams/gram creatinine. A statistically significant relationship was found between post shift performance on the Symbol/Digit test and both acute styrene exposure and mandelic-acid concentration. Other analyses comparing workers exposed to less than 50 ppm and greater than 50ppm styrene also showed a significant difference in Symbol/Digit performance. All three NES tests showed test/retest correlation coefficients above 0.80, and ease of use for collection of neurobehavioral data under field conditions was demonstrated.
- Research Organization:
- Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY (United States). Div. of Environmental and Occupational Medicine
- OSTI ID:
- 5669162
- Report Number(s):
- PB-91-184572/XAB; CNN: NIOSH-R01-OH-02384
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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