Protection from organotin poisoning, you need to know this ……
Recently, six employees in the crushing workshop of an enterprise producing PVC sheet profiles in our area successively showed symptoms of dizziness and blurred vision, which were diagnosed as suspected organotin poisoning by the city occupational disease control institute. After investigation, the cause was initially determined as the employees absorbed the organic tin produced by the crushing process through the respiratory tract and skin. The investigation and treatment of the enterprise is still underway.
In order to prevent similar incidents from occurring, occupational health knowledge related to poisoning by organotin and its compounds is now popularized, and enterprises with similar production are expected to pay high attention to it.
1 Exposure and Health Hazards
Organotin compounds are compounds containing hydrocarbon groups, mostly solids or oily liquids, with a rotten green grass odor. Volatile at room temperature. Insoluble or insoluble in water, easily soluble in organic solvents.
Occupational exposure is mainly seen in:
● Cable, paint, paper, and wood industries using triethyltin as an anti-mold agent;
● The use of dihydrocarbon-based tin as a hot material stabilizer in the plastics industry;
● The use of trialkyltin in agricultural production activities as fungicides and insecticides, rodent repellents, etc;
● waters near ships etc. where organotin antifouling coatings are applied can be contaminated;
The organotin can be exposed to large amounts of organotin during operation due to improper protection, equipment malfunction or unauthorized operation.
Organotin can be absorbed through the respiratory tract and through the skin and digestive tract. Organotin is strongly neurotoxic and can inhibit the oxidative phosphorylation of cell mitochondria, causing serious damage to the central nervous system. It has biliary and hepatic toxicity. In addition to neurotoxicity, many organotin compounds are also immunosuppressive and can cause defects in cellular immunity, humoral immunity and nonspecific host defense, probably due in part to inhibition of thymocyte energy metabolism, leading to thymus destruction.
2 Clinical manifestations
(1) Acute poisoning
Acute poisoning can be caused by the entry of large amounts of organotin compounds into the human body in a short period of time. Acute trialkyltin or tetraalkyltin poisoning is mainly manifested by encephalopathy.
Generally, the time from the cessation of exposure to toxic substances to the appearance of obvious encephalopathy symptoms is mostly 1 to 2 days, and a few are 5 days. The incubation period can be rapid without obvious symptoms; there can also be mild dizziness, headache, malaise; or skin and mucous membrane irritation symptoms. In a few cases, mild dizziness, weakness and skin tingling were felt 30 min after exposure to tetraethyltin, and the disease deteriorated rapidly after 2 weeks.
Systemic symptoms: Headache often appears first and is the most common.
The headache may be persistent and vague in the early stages, intensifying in paroxysms, and persistently intensifying in the later stages, and may be awakened from sleep.
Headache attacks are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Dizziness may appear early and vertigo may be present in the later stages. Weakness is an early and obvious symptom.
Gastrointestinal symptoms are early with nausea, followed by marked loss of appetite, and later with frequent vomiting, often non-jetting. Brief mild mental disturbances include polyphonic, agitated, crying for no reason, disorientation, hallucinations, and abnormal behavior.
Others include blurred vision, photophobia, diplopia, numbness of the extremities, and marked wasting.
(2) Chronic poisoning
Workers with long-term exposure to organotin can have cerebral debilitation syndrome, mainly dizziness, headache and weakness. It can cause irritation symptoms of the throat, nose and eyes. Skin contact with organotin compounds can cause contact dermatitis and allergic dermatitis.
3 Emergency treatment
Get away from the accident scene to fresh air immediately. If skin is contaminated, rinse thoroughly with water or soap and water immediately. For eye contamination, rinse with water. Wash stomach with water immediately after oral ingestion.
4 Prevention, safety and labor protection
1 production process is reasonable, the production process should be confined pipeline, avoid manual operation, and operate under negative pressure. Organic compounds are heavier than air, for this reason, the exhaust equipment below should be set.
2The gas of organic tin is easily adsorbed by multi-air substance and not easy to remove. Production workshop walls, floors and table tops should be as smooth as possible to facilitate washing. Potassium permanganate can be used for cleaning.
3 production pipeline should strengthen the management and maintenance of strict prevention of running, bubbles, drips, leaks and other accidents.
4 contact with organotin agricultural fungicides, must comply with the prescribed period of disengagement.
5 regular monitoring of organotin adhesion concentration in the air of the production site.
6 To strengthen individual protection, workers producing organotin should wear protective masks, overalls, gloves, and protective equipment should be made of synthetic fiber materials.
7 Regular medical examinations and pre-employment examinations. Have central nervous system disease and mental illness, chronic hepatitis, chronic skin disease and women in pregnancy or lactation are not allowed to engage in organotin operations.
