title: [Inhalational exposure to rapidly eliminated substances: possibility and strategies for biological monitoring. A proposal for the use of biological limits equivalent to environmental limits].
abstract: Some advantages of biological compared with environmental monitoring and some preparatory steps and difficulties to be overcome during the planning of a biological monitoring program are firstly discussed. Then the biological compartments, their peculiarities and their use in the field of biological monitoring are described. The problem concerning the biological thresholds of the reference normal values and the biological limits corresponding to environmental limits (biological equivalent limits, BEL) is the next topic, followed by the description of the methods for measuring the BELs (in case of linear regression between biological and environmental values) and of the methods for the upper and lower confidence limits (UCL, LCL) of a biological value. They are to be used for a decision of compliance or noncompliance biological exposure. Finally some ways of using biological UCL-LCL and variation coefficients during cross-sectional and longitudinal studies (biological monitoring strategies) are shown.
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D001711:Biotransformation; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D008452:Maximum Allowable Concentration; D012016:Reference Values; D012119:Respiration; D013997:Time Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational
vernacular_title: Esposizione inalatoria a sostanze a rapida eliminazione: possibilità e strategie di monitoraggio biologico. Proposta di utilizzazione di limiti biologici equivalenti a limiti ambientali (LBE).