Summary
Toluene exposure was studied in 20 workers employed in painting and hand-finishing in an art furniture factory. Toluene was determined in the environmental air of places of work and in the alveolar air and blood of the workers. Hippuric acid and cresols were also tested in the workers' urine. Blood and urine tests were carried out before the work shift on Monday and Friday morning and at the end of the work shift on Friday afternoon. The other tests were performed on Friday afternoon only. Alveolar toluene concentrations, which were significantly correlated with environmental toluene concentrations (r= 0.6230; P < 0.01), corresponded to 19.4% of the toluene concentration in the atmosphere. Blood toluene was also found in painters on Monday morning and was significantly correlated with the other parameters. On Friday afternoon it was three times higher than the environmental toluene concentration. Urinary o-Cresol was highly correlated with toluene in the atmosphere, in blood and with hippuric acid in urine. On the basis of the slope of the regression line the ratio between urinary o-Cresol and blood toluene concentration was 0.99. At the end of the work shift urinary hippuric acid concentration was highly correlated with o-Cresoluria and with toluene in blood and in the atmosphere.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Angerer J, Kassebart V, Szadkowski D, Lehnert G (1975) Chronische Lösungsmittelbelastung am Arbeitsplatz: III. Eine gaschromatographische Methode zur Bestimmung von Hippursäure im Serum. Int Arch Arbeitsmed 34:199–207
Angerer J (1979) Occupational chronic exposure to organic solvents. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 43:63–67
Angerer J, Behling K (1981) Chronische Lösungsmittelbelastung am Arbeitsplatz: IX. Ein Verfahren zur Evaluierung von Grenzwerten für Parameter der inneren Belastung am Beispiel der Toluolexposition. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 48:137–146
Astrand I, Ehrner-Samuel H, Kilbom A, Ovrum P (1972) Toluene exposure. I. Concentration in alveolar air and blood at rest and during exercise. Work, Environ, Health 9:119–130
Bellar TA, Lichtenberg JJ (1974) Determination of volatile organic compound at the microgramper-litre levels by gaschromatography. J Am Water Works Assoc 66:739
Brugnone F, Perbellini L, Grigolini L, Cazzadori A, Gaffuri E (1976) Alveolar air and blood toluene concentration in rotogravure workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 40:241–247
Brugnone F, Perbellini L, Gaffuri E, Apostoli P (1980) Biomonitoring of industrial solvent exposures in workers' alveolar air. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 47:245–251
Cocheo V, De Rosa E, Bartolucci GB, Mazzotta M (1977) Determinazione dei plastificanti monomerici e dei solventi organici impiegati nell'industria calzaturiera. Contributo sperimentale. Riv Inf Malatt Prof 2:189–202
Engstrom K, Husman K, Rantanen J (1976) Measurement of toluene and xylene metabolites by gaschromatography. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 36:153–160
Konietzko H, Keilbach J, Drysch K (1980) Cumulative effects of daily toluene exposure. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 46:53–58
Ovrum P, Hultengren M, Lindqvist T (1978) Exposure to toluene in a photogravure printing plant: Concentration in ambient air and uptake in the body. Scand J Work Environ Health 4:237–245
Perbellini L, Brugnone F, Grigolini L, Cunegatti P, Tacconi A (1977) Alveolar air and blood dichloromethane concentration in shoe sole factory workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 40:241–247
Pfäffli P, Savolainen H, Kalliomäki P-L, Kalliokoski P (1979) Urinary o-cresol in toluene exposure. Scand J Work Environ Health 5:286–289
Szadkowski D, Pett R, Angerer J, Manz A, Lehnert G (1973) Chronische Lösungsmittelbelastung am Arbeitsplatz: II. Schadstoffspiegel im Blut und Metabolitenelimination im Harn in ihrer Bedeutung als Überwachungskriterien bei toluolexponierten Tiefdruckern. Int Arch Arbeitsmed 31:265–276
Szadkowski D, Pfeiffer D, Angerer J (1976) Beurteilung einer beruflichen Toluolexposition hinsichtlich ihrer hepototoxischen Relevanz. Med Monatsschr 30:25–28
Veulemans H, Masschelein R (1978) Experimental human exposure to toluene: Toluene in venous blood during and after exposure. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 42:105–117
Veulemans H, Masschelein R (1979) Experimental human exposure to toluene: III. Urinary hippuric acid excretion as a measure of individual solvent uptake. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 43:53–62
Woiwode W, Wodarz R, Drysch K, Weichardt H (1979) Metabolism of toluene in man: Gaschromatographic determination of O-, m-, and p-Cresol in urine. Arch Toxicol 43:93–98
Woiwode W, Drysch K (1981) Experimental exposure to toluene. Further consideration of cresol formation in man. Br J Ind Med 38:194–197
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Apostoli, P., Brugnone, F., Perbellini, L. et al. Biomonitoring of occupational toluene exposure. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 50, 153–168 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378077
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378077