caa a22 4500 463193741 CHVBK 20180406164916.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170326e20071001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s00420-007-0193-0 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s00420-007-0193-0 Comparative evaluation of biomarkers of occupational exposure to toluene [Elektronische Daten] [Hirohiko Ukai, Toshio Kawai, Osamu Inoue, Yuki Maejima, Yoshinari Fukui, Fumiko Ohashi, Satoru Okamoto, Shiro Takada, Haruhiko Sakurai, Masayuki Ikeda] Objectives: This study was initiated to make comparative evaluation of five proposed urinary markers of occupational exposure to toluene, i.e., benzyl alcohol, benzylmercapturic acid, o-cresol, hippuric acid and un-metabolized toluene. Methods: In practice, six plants in Japan were surveyed, and 122 Japanese workers (mostly printers; all men) together with 12 occupationally nonexposed control subjects (to be called controls; all men) agreed to participate in the study. Surveys were conducted in the second half of working weeks. Time-weighted average exposure (about 8h) to toluene and other solvents were monitored by diffusive sampling. End-of-shift urine samples were collected and analyzed for the five markers by the methods previously described; simultaneous determination of o-cresol was possible by the method originally developed for benzyl alcohol analysis. Results: The toluene concentration in the six plants was such that the grand geometric mean (GM) for the 122 cases was 10.4ppm with the maximum of 121ppm. Other solvents coexposed included ethyl acetate (26ppm as GM), methyl ethyl ketone (26ppm), butyl acetate (1ppm) and xylenes (1ppm). By simple regression analysis, hippuric acid correlated most closely with toluene in air (r=0.85 for non-corrected observed values) followed by un-metabolized toluene (r=0.83) and o-cresol (r=0.81). In a plant where toluene in air was low (i.e., 2ppm as GM), however, un-metabolized toluene and benzylmercapturic acid in urine showed better correlation with air-borne toluene (r=0.79 and 0.61, respectively) than hippuric acid (r=0.12) or o-cresol (r=0.17). Benzyl alcohol tended to increase only when toluene exposure was intense. Correction for creatinine concentration or specific gravity of urine did not improve the correlation in any case. Multiple regression analysis showed that solvents other than toluene did not affect the levels of o-cresol, hippuric acid or un-metabolized toluene. Levels of benzylmercapturic acid and un-metabolized toluene were below the limits of detection [limit of detections (LODs); 0.2 and 2μg/l, respectively] in the urine from the control subjects. Conclusions: In over-all evaluation, hippuric acid, followed by un-metabolized toluene and o-cresol, is the marker of choice for occupational toluene exposure. When toluene exposure level is low (e.g., 2ppm), un-metabolized toluene and benzylmercapturic acid in urine may be better indicators. Detection of un-metabolized toluene or benzylmercapturic acid in urine at the levels in excess of the LODs may be taken as a positive evidence of toluene exposure, because their levels in urine from the controls are below the LODs. The value of benzyl alcohol as an exposure marker should be limited. Springer-Verlag, 2007 Benzyl alcohol nationallicence Benzylmercapturic acid nationallicence Biomarkers nationallicence o -Cresol nationallicence Hippuric acid nationallicence Occupational exposure nationallicence Organic solvents nationallicence Toluene nationallicence Urinalysis nationallicence Ukai Hirohiko Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut Kawai Toshio Osaka Occupational Health Service Center, Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association, Nishi-ku, 550-0001, Osaka, Japan aut Inoue Osamu Tohoku Rosai Hospital, 4-3-1 Dainohara, Aoba-ku, 981-8563, Sendai, Japan aut Maejima Yuki Department of Hygiene, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, 641-8509, Wakayama, Japan aut Fukui Yoshinari Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut Ohashi Fumiko Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut Okamoto Satoru Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut Takada Shiro Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut Sakurai Haruhiko Occupational Health Research and Development Center, Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association, 108-0014, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan aut Ikeda Masayuki Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health Springer-Verlag 81/1(2007-10-01), 81-93 0340-0131 81:1<81 2007 81 420 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-007-0193-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-007-0193-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ukai Hirohiko Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Kawai Toshio Osaka Occupational Health Service Center, Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association, Nishi-ku, 550-0001, Osaka, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Inoue Osamu Tohoku Rosai Hospital, 4-3-1 Dainohara, Aoba-ku, 981-8563, Sendai, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Maejima Yuki Department of Hygiene, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, 641-8509, Wakayama, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Fukui Yoshinari Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ohashi Fumiko Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Okamoto Satoru Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Takada Shiro Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Sakurai Haruhiko Occupational Health Research and Development Center, Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association, 108-0014, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ikeda Masayuki Kyoto Industrial Health Association, 67 Nishinokyo-Kitatsuboicho, Nakagyo-ku, 604-8472, Kyoto, Japan aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health Springer-Verlag 81/1(2007-10-01), 81-93 0340-0131 81:1<81 2007 81 420 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer