Effects of Alcohol, Caffeine and Methyl Chloride on Man

Abstract

Industrial workers are frequently exposed to organic solvents, such as methyl chloride, and also voluntarily ingest quantities of alcohol or caffeine, all of which affect the nervous system. The purpose was to assess the behavioral effects of such substances alone and when combined. 84 paid volunteers were randomly assigned to one of six treatment groups. Each individual was then tested before and during both the treatment or control procedures on three performance tasks. The results indicated that an alcohol dose sufficient to register blood levels of 0.08% produced a significant impairment of 10% on all three tests, which included eye-hand coordination and alertness. A caffeine dose equivalent to two cups of coffee (200 mg.) produced a small, but significant impairment on only the eye-hand coordination test. However, participants who were exposed to MeCl for 3.5 hr. at levels equivalent to the current legal standard did not experience any significant impairments on the tests. Moreover, when the solvent was combined with each drug individually, the effect was essentially equivalent to the sum of the separate effects; hence, no behavioral interaction was found.