Urinary biomonitoring of platinum in occupational medicine

Abstract

For 88 years the noble metal platinum has received attention in Occupational Medicine because of allergic airway reactions, mainly caused by platinum salts (Karasek 1911). In the platinum industry the incidence of allergy symptoms is about 20%, but increased for smokers (Niezborala u. Gamier 1996; Venables et al. 1989). For example, in western Germany 68 persons with occupational disease from platinum salts were registered from 1990 to 1996. There are threshold limit values (TLV) for platinum in some countries, i.e.; in Germany two thresholds exist, the (MAK), 1 mg/m³ for platinum metal and 2 µg/m³ for platinum salts. The second one is now classified only as recommendation because of the high sensitisation risk. Airborne platinum concentrations at platinum refineries have been measured since 1945 (Fothergill et al. 1945), but currently, an additional biomonitoring of metals in human tissues (blood, plasma, urine) is recommended to evaluate workers individual exposure.