Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Exposure to PCE-tainted water before birth to age 5 affects color vision decades later.

Exposure to PCE-tainted water before birth to age 5 affects color vision decades later.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2012/07/2012-0823-perchloroethylene-in-water-color-blind/

Getz, KD, PA Janulewicz, S Rowe, JM Weinberg, MR Winter, BR Martin, VM Vieira, RF White and A Aschengrau. 2012. Prenatal and early childhood exposure to tetrachloroethylene and adult vision. Environmental Health Perspectives http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1103996.

"Adults exposed to higher levels of the commercial solvent PCE from before birth to age 5 were less able to see contrast and distinguish colors years after the exposures were reduced. While not life-threatening, the ability to tell light from dark and yellow from green affects visual perception and quality of life. The findings are part of a larger, ongoing study assessing the long-term health effects of exposure during early development to PCE-contaminated drinking water in communities near Cape Cod, Mass. Exposure to PCE at work has been linked to impaired color vision. This is the first study to show similar kinds of vision deficits decades after the original exposures."

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