Perchloroethylene in alveolar air, blood, and urine as biologic indices of low-level exposure.
We studied the reliability of biologic indices for monitoring perchlorethylene (PCE) exposure at low environmental solvent concentrations. Environmental monitoring was performed by personal sampling, biologic monitoring by measuring PCE in alveolar air (PCE-Alv), blood (PCE-B), and urine (PCE-U) in 26 low-exposed dry-cleaners. Correlation coefficients (r) between environmental PCE and PCE-B, PCE-Alv, and PCE-U were 0.94, 0.81, and 0.67 respectively. A high correlation was also found among biologic indices: r value was 0.96 between PCE-B and PCE-Alv, 0.95 between PCE-B and PCE-U, and 0.87 between alveolar PCE-Alv and PCE-U. The examined biologic indices proved sensitive enough for biologic monitoring of low exposure to PCE and can give substantially similar information in terms of exposure evaluation. PCE-Alv offers some advantages because it correlated better with exposure and is analytically simpler.
Gobba
Fabriziomaria
F
Dipartimento di Scienze Igienistiche, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. f.gobba@unimore.it
Righi
Elena
E
Fantuzzi
Guglielmina
G
Roccatto
Luigi
L
Predieri
Guerrino
G
Aggazzotti
Gabriella
G
D000328:Adult; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000737:chemistry*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012997:Solvents / Q000032:analysis*; D013750:Tetrachloroethylene / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine
D012997:Solvents; D013750:Tetrachloroethylene