Johnson E S, Lucier G
Division of Biometry and Risk Assessment, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.
Am J Ind Med. 1992;21(5):749-57. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700210513.
Very sensitive methods that can detect the benzene metabolite muconic acid (MA) in the urine of virtually all members of the general population have recently become available and have been used in a few occupational studies as a marker of benzene exposure. Preliminary findings from these studies suggest that urinary MA may be a reliable marker of occupational exposure to greater than 5 ppm benzene. It was also consistently observed that a certain proportion of the general population have urinary MA levels compatible with those seen in persons occupationally exposed to greater than 1 ppm benzene. It is unlikely that these elevated levels can be explained solely as being artifactual. The frequency with which they occur for a given individual, and the duration with which they are maintained, are not known. Information on these two factors is needed in order to adequately assess whether or not these levels present a significant risk for a segment of the general population.
近期已出现了非常灵敏的方法，这些方法能够在几乎所有普通人群成员的尿液中检测出苯代谢物粘康酸（MA），并且在一些职业研究中已将其用作苯暴露的标志物。这些研究的初步结果表明，尿MA可能是职业暴露于大于5 ppm苯的可靠标志物。还一直观察到，普通人群中有一定比例的人尿MA水平与职业暴露于大于1 ppm苯的人群中所见到的水平相当。这些升高的水平不太可能仅被解释为是人为造成的。对于特定个体，其出现的频率以及维持的时长尚不清楚。为了充分评估这些水平是否对一部分普通人群构成重大风险，需要有关这两个因素的信息。
