Summary
The relationship between exposure to 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (1,2,4-TMB) and urinary concentration of 3,4-dimethylhippuric acid (3,4-DMHA), one of its metabolites, was studied in workers involved in transfer printing. Airborne TMBs were sampled by an organic vapor monitoring badge and analyzed by capillary gas chromatography. Urinary 3,4-DMHA and creatinine were analyzed under the same conditions of high-performance liquid chromatography. The exposure concentration of 1,2,4-TMB among workers was around 25 ppm, the threshold limit value (TLV). The urinary concentration of 3,4-DMHA was low at the start of each shift and high at the end. Exposure to the TLV (25 ppm) of 1,2,4-TMB results in a urinary 3,4-DMHA concentration of 410 mg/g creatinine (r = 0.897, P < 0.001). Urinary 3,4-DMHA concentration could be used as a biological monitoring index for 1,2,4-TMB exposure.
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Fukaya, Y., Saito, I., Matsumoto, T. et al. Determination of 3,4-dimethylhippuric acid as a biological monitoring index for trimethylbenzene exposure in transfer printing workers. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 65, 295–297 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00405692
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00405692