title: [Monitoring of the occupational and environmental exposure to low doses of benzene].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To verify which of the various biomarkers of internal dose of benzene can be considered reliable for biological monitoring of exposure to the low concentrations present nowadays in working and living environments.
  
  
  METHODS
  The specific literature was analyzed to assess the reliability of the different biomarkers of internal dose.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  T,t-muconic acid is a non specific biomarker for benzene, valid for exposure to concentrations up to one order of magnitude less than the threshold limit of 3250 microg/m3. S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA) is a reliable marker even for exposure to concentrations up to two orders below the threshold value of 3250 microg/m3, and can be considered the biomarker of choice for biological monitoring of workers exposed to benzene. Urinary benzene does not seem to have any real advantages over SPMA for monitoring occupational exposure to benzene, but it does seem to be more reliable than SPMA to assess exposure to concentrations like those present in living environments. A smoking habit influences the urinary excretion of all the described biomarkers, and for the current low levels of occupational and environmental exposure to benzene, must be taken into account when interpreting the results of biological monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Interdisciplinaire di Medicina, Sezione di Medicina del Lavoro "E.C. Vigliani", Università di Bari "A. Moro", Bari, Italy. piero.lovreglio@uniba.it
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lovreglio
authors.forename: Mariella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carrieri
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sabatini
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fustinoni
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Andreoli
authors.forename: Maria Nicolà
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: D'Errico
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basso
authors.forename: Giovanni Battista
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Bartolucci
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Soleo
mesh_terms: D001554:Benzene / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001554:Benzene