One of the loud, bombastic TV attorneys in my area just came on a commercial representing people who have Parkinson’s disease and used to be welders. Apparently there is some connection between the two if he has chosen to represent this group, but I was immediately skeptical. I’ve heard of other fumes having weird effects on you (mostly of the drug variety), but I’m unsure of how there’s a correlation between being a welder and ending up with Parkinson’s disease. What’s the straight dope on this matter?
My father has for years cast his own bullets for reloading gun cartridges. Unfortunately, for many of those years he did not provide himself with adequate ventilation while working with the molten lead. Today, after all those years of breathing lead fumes, he has suffered a bit of brain damage that has adversely affected his fine motor control. The most obvious evidence is that his handwriting has become almost illegible.
Fortunately, he learned what was happening to him before things got any worse. He’s still fully functional other than the fine motor control at age 59.
I imagine that a welder might suffer similar effects after years of breathing metallic fumes. Parkinson’s Disease does indeed impair motor control, but I can’t say for sure that the effects of breathing metal fumes actually causes the disease. I was under the impression that Parkinson’s was a genetic disease. I think it’s more likely that breathing the fumes simply produces symptoms that mimic Parkinson’s.