i served in the ardennes plus in ww2. in the bulge we were constantly
fireing a range of weapons from 57mm anti tank gun, bazooka etc.
besides the tremendous amount of fire power being expended by both
sides the winter air and cloud cover contained fumes for the
period.could that total condition produce manganism.scientific
documentation  $20

---

Request for Question Clarification by digsalot-ga on 25 Jun 2003 05:35 PDT

It may sound like a strange request but do you remember if there was
much "tracer" fire at the time.  Also incindiary bombs could contain
high amounts of magnesium.

The reason I'm asking is that we're involved in a project attempting
to connect Parkinson's disease to veteran's benefits as a possible
service related injury.

The problem is that most of the information is anecdotal rather than
scientific documentation relating directly to military service. Though
scientific documentation does exist connecting magnesium and
Parkinson's.

digsalot

---

Request for Question Clarification by digsalot-ga on 25 Jun 2003 10:10 PDT

Thanks to Pinkfreud for catching my slip.  should read "manganese" not
"magnesium."  Fingers work faster than brain to often.

I was interested in your question and e-mailed the CDC for
information. I received an answer and thought that it might be helpful
to you:

It is very unlikely that any form of manganese toxicity could result
from the situation you describe.  While manganese is used to
strengthen many metals, any exposure in such a wartime scenario would
not be expected to be of an extent necessary to produce illness.

 

If manganese had resulted in adverse health effects, they would most
surely have been observed within a year of exposure, if not long
before.  Since manganese is a nutritionally essential element
necessary for normal physiological function, we have to take in a
certain amount of manganese to remain healthy.  In the event that you
had actually been exposed to excessive amounts of manganese during
WWII, that excess would have long-since left your body.

 

As a separate, but related, matter, among people in your age group,
some age-related diseases and the normal aging process itself can also
cause signs and symptoms similar to those of manganese toxicity.  If
you have not already done so, I would advise you to see your family
physician or a geriatric medicine or internal medicine specialist.

 

If I may be of further assistance, please feel free to call me at
404-498-0737 (or toll-free:  1-888-422-8737, and ask to be transferred
to me).

 

                                                                      
                                                            
Sincerely,

 

                                                                      
                                                             John F.
Risher, Ph.D.

                                                                      
                                                             Senior
Toxicologist

                                                                      
                                                            
Toxicology Information Branch

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Mona, Regina On Behalf Of ATSDR Information Center
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 9:54 AM
To: Risher, John
Subject: FW: manganism poisoning military high explosives related

Good luck, Redhoss