Monitoring human risk and exposure to trinitrotoluene (TNT) using haemoglobin adducts as biomarkers.
Two studies were carried out in a trinitrotoluene (TNT) plant using TNT haemoglobin (TNT-Hb) adduct as a biomarker to study dose-adduct and adduct-response relationships. In the first study, TNT-Hb adduct levels were determined in 117 TNT-exposed workers in different working sites with different exposure conditions. External exposure was calculated from the inhaled air concentration plus skin contamination. TNT-Hb adduct levels in blood were significantly correlated with their external exposure to TNT. Two methods, HPLC-UV and CI-ELISA, were developed for measuring TNT-Hb adduct: good correlations (r = 0.77 and 0.86) were found between these 2 methods. In the second study, TNT cataract was used as an indicator of health effects. The prevalence of cataract and the degree of lenticular damage increased with the increase of blood TNT-Hb level.
Liu
Y Y
YY
Institute of Occupational Medicine, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Beijing.
Yao
M
M
Fang
J L
JL
Wang
Y W
YW
D002386:Cataract / Q000209:etiology; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D011485:Protein Binding; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014303:Trinitrotoluene / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism*
D006454:Hemoglobins; D014303:Trinitrotoluene