title: Hippuric acid and ortho-cresol as biological indicators of occupational exposure to toluene.
abstract: Industrial exposure to toluene was studied in a group of 18 subjects working in a printing plant, exposed only to this solvent. Environmental monitoring was carried out using personal samplers for the whole work-shift. Urine samples were collected for the determination of hippuric acid and ortho(o)-cresol before toluene exposure, at the end of the work-shift, and 5, 9, and 17 h after the end of the work-shift. The values of two metabolites in all the urinary samples were corrected for g creatinine and specific gravity (1.024). Toluene time weighted average (TWA) concentrations ranged from 51 to 221 mg/m3 (7-h samples; two samplings lasting 3.5 h each). Urinary hippuric acid and o-cresol values at the end of the work-shift were significantly higher than the prework-shift values. Both hippuricuria and o-cresoluria end-of-work-shift values, corrected for creatinine and specific gravity, were significantly related to the mean daily environmental concentration of toluene, the correlation being weaker for o-cresol. Correlation coefficients were 0.88 and 0.84 for hippuric acid and 0.63 and 0.62 for o-cresol after correction for creatinine and specific gravity, respectively. No significant relationship was observed between environmental exposure and the values of the two urinary metabolites 5, 9, and 17 h after the end of the work-shift. Extrapolated values from the linear regression analysis at 375 mg/m3 were in good agreement with the biological exposure index (BEI) suggested by ACGIH for hippuric acid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D003408:Cresols / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine*; D006626:Hippurates / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000652:urine; D014050:Toluene / Q000378:metabolism / Q000506:poisoning*
chemical_list: D003408:Cresols; D006626:Hippurates; D014050:Toluene; C030514:hippuric acid; C034047:2-cresol