Epidemiological study of eye irritation by hydrogen sulphide and/or carbon disulphide exposure in viscose rayon workers.

In the framework of an extensive health survey 123 male viscose rayon workers exposed to hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and/or carbon disulphide (CS2) and 67 referents not exposed to either of these chemicals answered questions on eye irritation complaints in a self-administered questionnaire. Personal exposure varied from 4 to 112 mg m-3 for CS2 and from 0.2 to 8.9 mg m-3 for H2S. A combined exposure measure was calculated using principal component analysis. The exposed subjects had a significantly higher prevalence of eye pain, burning and photophobia. Adjustment for age and smoking in logistic regression revealed significantly more eye complaints for all workers that were highly exposed. In a postal survey one-third of the ex-workers of the same viscose rayon factory reported having left the factory because of eye complaints, indicating that their occurrence may be underestimated in the cross-sectional study.