A solvent is a substance that dissolves into a chemically different liquid in order to create a solution. Typically, solvents are in a liquid form, but they can also be bottled as gases or as solids. Some occupations deal with solvents on a regular basis. For example, dry cleaners often work with solvents as they clean clothes at their shop. Painters often have to deal with solvents when working with paint thinners. Nail salon workers have to deal with solvents because they are often in nail polish removers. There are also some glue solvents that are used at various workplaces. Carpet cleaners use solvents when they are working with sport remover. In fact, a bottle of spot remover typically has hexane or petrol ether inside. Some perfumes have solvents inside, as well as some nail polishes. These are all considered organic solvents. Non-organic solvents are used by chemists.
Recently, a study showed that when pregnant women are exposed to solvents daily, it can lead to birth defects in their child. Self-reported exposure and urine samples have showed that the chemicals can create malformations in newborns. Normally, these malformations are things like cleft palates or limb deformities. Some can be corrected through plastic surgery, but others may cause a child to be handicapped for the rest of his or her life. Typically, the most dangerous solvents are those that contain bleach or those that contain glycecol ether. The solvents have proven to create birth defects in animals as well as humans. In addition to limb and face deformities, the solvent exposure has been linked to congenital heart diseases in newborns. In the recent study, American scientists were able to determine that more than 3,000 women who work with solvents on a daily basis gave birth to babies with physical deformities.
The new research is not ironclad, and there may be other reasons that the babies have so many deformities. Still, 45 percent of babies who had malformations had mothers that admitted that they were regularly exposed to solvents at work. These women were typically nurses, chemists, hairdressers, beauticians, or cleaners. In a survey, women who had babies without defects characteristically did not work with solvents. In fact, only 28 percent of all mothers to healthy children say that they are regularly exposed to the strong chemicals. Researchers at the Sylvaine Cordier of the National Health Institute of Health and Medical Research say that women regularly report that their babies were born with deformities because of solvent exposure. If your child is suffering because of the chemicals that you exposed to at work, you may want to seek damages. You have the right to obtain compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and the other expenses associated with your child’s malformations!