title: Occupational exposure to N,N-dimethylformamide in the summer and winter.
abstract: We evaluated total body burden of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) taken through the lung and skin by personal exposure of workers to DMF and urinalysis of N-methylformamide (NMF) and N-acetyl-S(N-methylcarbamoyl)-cysteine (AMCC). A total of 270 workers were engaged in four different jobs in a workplace distant from main production lines emanating high levels of DMF. They were not required to wear any personal protective equipment including respirators or gloves. We found that log-transformed urinary levels of NMF and AMCC increased with an increase in log-transformed concentrations of exposure to DMF. Urinary levels of NMF and AMCC were significantly higher in the summer than the winter, although there was no significant seasonal difference in the concentrations of exposure to DMF. Our findings suggested that the increased urinary levels of NMF and AMCC in the summer resulted in increased skin absorption of DMF due to an increased amount of DMF absorbed by the moisturized skin under humid and hot conditions. Seasonal changes in the relative internal exposure index confirmed the present finding of enhanced summertime skin absorption of DMF. AMCC is thought to be a useful biomarker for assessments of cumulative exposure to DMF over a workweek and for evaluations of workers' health effects.
authors.affiliation: The Association of Industrial Health, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyauchi
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.forename: Aoi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minozoe
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Heihachiro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arito
authors.forename: Teruomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsukahara
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nomiyama
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine; D000328:Adult; D004126:Dimethylformamide / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005559:Formamides / Q000032:analysis; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D066192:Manufacturing Industry; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons; D012869:Skin Absorption
chemical_list: D005559:Formamides; C052469:N-acetyl-S-(N-methylcarbamoyl)cysteine; D004126:Dimethylformamide; D000111:Acetylcysteine; C002950:methylformamide