A note on urinary trans,trans-muconic acid level among Thai press workers.

Benzene is a common toxic volatile substance associated with many industrial processes. Benzene exposure is of particular concern because recent research indicates that it can result in chronic toxicity and thousands of workers in industrial plants experience ongoing exposure. Therefore, the determination and control of benzene exposure among at-risk workers is very important. Urinary trans,trans-muconic acid (ttMA) determination is a helpful test for monitoring groups of at-risk workers for exposure to benzene. In this study, 103 urine samples were obtained from 60 controls and 43 occupational exposed press workers in a press factory in Bangkok. All samples were analysed for ttMA using a previously reported method. The average urinary ttMA levels for the control and exposed groups were 0.08+/-0.03 mg g(-1) creatinine and 0.56+/-0.65 mg g(-1) creatinine, respectively. Significantly higher urinary ttMA levels were observed among the press workers (p=0.03). The introduction of public health policies concerning the prevention of exposure to benzene among at-risk workers is recommended, and more widespread use of biological monitoring for the assessment and control of occupational exposure to industrial chemicals is encouraged.