Summary
The correlation between exposure to three xylene isomers and resulting urinary excretion of corresponding methylhippuric acid (MHA) isomers was studied among 175 Chinese workers of both sexes who had been predominantly exposed to xylenes (exposure to xylenes accounting for 70% or more of the total exposure on a ppm basis). Nonexposed controls (281 men and women) were also studied to define the background level of MHAs in urine. The solvent exposure of xylene-exposed workers during their workshift was monitored by diffusive sampling of breathing zone air, and MHAs in shift-end urine were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Regression analysis showed that the concentration of each MHA isomer correlated significantly with the time-weighted average intensity of exposure to the corresponding xylene isomer, and therefore the correlation between the sum of three xylene isomers in air and that of three MHA isomers in urine was also significant; the slope of the regression line was essentially the same among the three isomers. The calculated regression line suggested that the urinary MHA level after hypothetical exposure to xylenes at 100 ppm will be somewhat less than the proposed biological exposure index and biological tolerance value. Two social habits of smoking and drinking in combination suppressed the conversion of xylenes to MHAs in male workers.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (1991) Threshold limit values and biological exposure indices for 1991–1992. ACGIH, Cincinnati
Chan CC, Spengler JD, Ozkaynak H, Lefkopoulou M (1991) Commuter exposures to VOCs in Boston, Massachusetts. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 41:1594–1600
Cho B-M (1989) Urinary concentration of hippuric acid and methylhippuric acid after occupational exposure to toluene and xylene. J Pusan Med College 29:109–119
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (1991) Maximum concentrations at the workplace and biological tolerance values for working materials 1991. VCH, Weinheim
Engström K, Husman K, Pfäffli P, Riihimäki V (1978) Evaluation of occupational exposure to xylene by blood, exhaled air and urine analysis. Scand J Work Environ Health 4:114–121
Hajimiragha H, Ewers U, Brockhaus A, Boettger A (1989) Levels of benzene and other volatile aromatic compounds in the blood of non-smokers and smokers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 61:513–518
Hirayama T, Ikeda M (1979) Applicability of carbon felt to the dosimetry of solvent vapor mixture. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 40:1091–1096
Ikeda M, Kumai M, Aksoy M (1984) Application of carbon felt dosimetry to field studies distant from analytical laboratory. Ind Health 22:53–58
Inoue O, Seiji K, Watanabe T, Kasahara M, Nakatsuka H, Yin S-N, Li G-L, Cai S-X, Jin C, Ikeda M (1986) Possible ethnic difference in toluene metabolism: a comparative study among Chinese, Turkish and Japanese solvent workers. Toxicol Lett 34:167–174
Inoue O, Seiji K, Kawai T, Jin C, Liu Y-T, Cai S-X, Yin S-N, Li G-L, Nakatsuka H, Watanabe T, Ikeda M (1989) Relationship between vapor exposure and urinary metabolite excretion among workers exposed to trichloroethylene. Am J Ind Med 15:103–110
Inoue O, Seiji K, Suzuki T, Watanabe T, Nakatsuka H, Satoh H, Ikeda M (1991) Simultaneous determination of hippuric acid, o-, m-, and p-methylhippuric acid, phenylglyoxylic acid, and mandelic acid by HPLC. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 47:204–210
Inoue O, Seiji K, Watanabe T, Nakatsuka H, Jin C, Liu S-J, Ikeda M (1993) Effects of smoking and drinking on excretion of hippuric acid among toluene-exposed workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health (in press)
Inoue T, Takeuchi Y, Hisanaga N, Ono Y, Iwata M, Ogata M, Saito K, Sakurai H, Hara I, Matsushita T, Ikeda M (1983) A nationwide survey on organic solvent components in various solvent products: Part I. Homogeneous products such as thinners, degreasers and reagents. Ind Health 21:175–183
Jackson S (1966) Creatinine in urine as an index of urinary excretion rate. Health Phys 12:843–850
Japan Association of Industrial Health (1991) Recommended occupational exposure limits. Jpn J Ind Health 33:277–298
Kaneko T, Sato A (1992) Effects of ethanol intake on pharmacokinetics of organic solvents; 1. m-xylene. Presented at the 65th Annual Meeting of Japan Association of Industrial Health, Tokushima, Japan, 29 March–April 1992
Kasahara M, Ikeda M (1987) Spontaneous desorption of organic solvents from carbon cloth. Ind Health 25:73–81
Kawai T, Mizunuma K, Yasugi T, Horiguchi S, Uchida Y, Iwami O, Iguchi H, Ikeda M (1991) Urinary methylhippuric acid isomer levels after occupational exposure to a xylene mixture. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 63:69–75
Kumai M, Koizumi A, Saito K, Sakurai H, Inoue T, Takeuchi Y, Hara I, Ogata M, Matsushita T, Ikeda M (1983) A nationwide survey on organic solvent components in various solvent products: Part II. Heterogeneous products such as paints, inks and adhesives. Ind Health 21:185–197
Lauwerys R, Buchet JP (1988) Biological monitoring of exposure to benzene, toluene and xylene. IARC Sci Publ 85:205–222
Liu S-J, Qu Q-S, Xu X-P, Liu Y-T, Yin S-N, Takeuchi Y, Watanabe T, Inoue O, Yoshida M, Ikeda M (1992) Toluene vapor exposure and urinary excretion of hippuric acid among workers in China. Am J Ind Med 22:313–323
Rainsford SG, Lloyd Davies TA (1965) Urinary excretion of phenol by men exposed to vapour of benzene: a screening test. Br J Ind Med 22:21–26
Riihimaki V, Phäffli P, Savolainen K, Pekari K (1979) Kinetics of m-xylene in man. Scand J Work Environ Health 5:217–231
Sakai T, Takeuchi Y, Ikeya Y, Araki T, Ushio K (1989) Method for simultaneous determination of six metabolites of toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene, and its application to exposure monitoring of workers in a printing factory with gravure machines (in Japanese, with English abstract). Jpn J Ind Health 31:9–16
Sedivec V, Flek J (1976) Exposure test for xylenes. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 37:219–232
Seedorff L, Olsen E (1990) Exposure to organic solvents. I. A survey on the use of organic solvents. Ann Occup Hyg 34:371–378
Seiji K, Inoue O, Jin C, Liu Y-T, Cai S-X, Ohashi M, Watanabe T, Nakatsuka H, Kawai T, Ikeda M (1989) Dose-excretion relationship in tetrachloroethylene-exposed workers and the effect of tetrachloroethylene co-exposure on trichloroethylene metabolism. Am J Ind Med 16:675–684
Uchida Y, Nakatsuka H, Ukai H, Watanabe T, Liu Y-T, Huang M-Y, Wang Y-L, Zhu F-Z, Yin H, Ikeda T (1993) Symptoms and signs of workers exposed predominantly to xylenes. Int Arch Occup Environ Health (in press)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Inoue, O., Seiji, K., Kawai, T. et al. Excretion of methylhippuric acids in urine of workers exposed to a xylene mixture: comparison among three xylene isomers and toluene. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 64, 533–539 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381104
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381104