Urinary mandelic acid concentration after occupational exposure to styrene and its use as a biological exposure test.

Excretion of mandelic acid from workers in the reinforced polyester plastic industry was studied with the determination of urinary mandelic acid concentrations. The styrene exposure level at the workplaces was evaluated with measurements of the styrene concentration in the ambient air. Three different groups (I, II and III) were studied. In group I [n=9, median of the time-weighted average (TWA) of exposure = 23 ppmof styrene, postexposure observation period = 64 h] two excretion slopes were observed, the first with a median half-time of 9.4 h (postexposure period 0--18 h) and a second with a median half-time of 16.6 h (postexposure period 19--64 h). For group II (n=9, median TWA exposure = 248 ppm, postexposure observation period = 15 h) a half-time of 6.4 h was found. These results suggest that the excretion rate of mandelic acid is dependent on the styrene exposure level. In addition the mandelic acid concentrations of 29 workers (group III) before and after the work shift were analyzed. The urinary mandelic acid concentrations of groups I, II and III, sampled immediately after the 8-h work shift, correlated with the 8-h TWA of styrene exposure (n=47, r=0.93). Accordingly about 2,300 mg of mandelic acid per gram of creatinine corresponded to 100 ppm of styrene.