Science for You: Improving the health of welders

Welders in the United States are at risk of overexposure to manganese, which can cause serious neurological problems when it builds up in the brain. Ulrike Dydak, an associate professor of health sciences, is exploring how to reverse the effects of manganese through ventilation system.

When she came to Purdue in 2007, Dydak was the only person doing brain imaging and working with MRI technology; her department head, Wei Zheng, was highly involved in studies of manganese exposure with workers in China. In 2008, Dydak went with Zheng to China to study smelters who had high exposure to manganese.

“During the scans, I didn’t know who was a smelter or who was a control group member,” she says. “But, I could see the brains of these smelter workers literally lighting up with the deposits of manganese and we found significantly altered brain chemistry in these otherwise healthy young workers.”

Back in the United States, Dydak studied American welders to see the result of typical exposure levels of manganese. “Now we are looking at possible reversal of effects when the work environment is changed, such as installing ventilation systems,” she says. “Our study also resulted in a behavior change with the welders; just by inviting them to participate in the study every two years, they started using respirators on a volunteer basis.”

– From Purdue Today, http://bit.ly/2ptXjcb