Illness Associated with Exposure
to Naphthalene in Mothballs -- Indiana
In April 1982, the Clark County Health Department in
Jeffersonville, Indiana, received a telephone call from a
26-year-old
woman whose friends were becoming ill with symptoms of headache,
nausea, and vomiting while visiting her apartment.
An investigation of the home by the health department
identified
large numbers of mothballs (approximately 300-500) distributed
throughout the apartment in such places as the kitchen and living
room. The woman said members of her family had used mothballs for
many years to curb odors and to control insects. Air samples
collected in the apartment on charcoal and analyzed by gas
chromatography and flame ionization revealed detectable levels of
naphthalene (20 parts per billion).
The woman, her 4-year-old daughter, and seven relatives living
in
two other households where mothballs were extensively used, had
symptoms and medical findings compatible with naphthalene
exposure--headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, malaise,
confusion, anemia, icterus, and renal disease. Headache, nausea,
vomiting, abdominal cramps, and malaise disappeared in members of
all
three households when mothball use was discontinued, and visitors
no
longer developed symptoms when visiting the woman's apartment.
Reported by M Linick, Clark County Health Dept, Jeffersonville,
Indiana; Special Studies Br, Div of Chronic Diseases, Center for
Environmental Health, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: The use of mothballs in homes to control odors and
insects is common in some areas of the country, although the
quantity
of mothballs used in this situation appears uncommon. The major
component of mothballs is naphthalene. Inhalation of naphthalene
may
cause skin and eye irritation; gastrointestinal symptoms, such as
nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea; neurologic
symptoms,
such as confusion, excitement, and convulsions; renal problems,
such
as acute renal shutdown; and hematologic features, such as icterus
and
severe anemia. The erythrocytes of individuals with
glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency are more susceptible
to
hemolysis by naphthalene (1-3).
Although naphthalene levels were relatively low when
measurements
were taken in the home, levels may have been much higher--because
of
increased volatilization of naphthalene--when fresh supplies of
mothballs were first introduced. Individuals vary widely in
susceptibility to naphthalene exposure, and among sensitive
individuals, minute doses have induced symptomatic reactions (3).
Although adequate air monitoring to fully characterize exposure was
not available, it seems possible that such excessive use of
mothballs
could lead to symptomatic reactions. Because of the wide range of
sensitivity to naphthalene, the excessive and inappropriate use of
mothballs for odor and insect control is inadvisable.
References
Daugaard J. Symptoms and signs in occupational diseases: a
practical guide. Chicago: Year Book Medical, 1979.
Sittig M. Handbook of toxic and hazardous chemicals. Park
Ridge,
New Jersey: Noyes, 1981.
Gosselin R, Hodge H, Smith R, Gleason M. Clinical toxicology of
commercial products, 4th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins,
1976.
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