Bahrami A, Jonidi-Jafari A, Mahjub H
Dept. of Occupational Health, Faculty of Health, Hamadan University of Medical Science, Iran.
J Res Health Sci. 2008 Dec 28;8(2):61-8.
The aims of this study were evaluation of exposed to xylenes in low concentration and compare urinary level of methyl hippuric acid in taxi drivers and petrol stations workers in West of Iran.
This observation study was carried out on samples of the exposed men to xylenes in two occupational groups in Hamadan City (west of Iran) from March 2003 to March 2004. Subjects included 45 taxi drivers and 25 petrol station workers. The study group was selected from 54 workers at petrol stations and 300 drivers by simple random sampling. Xylenes was analyzed using gas chromatography equipped with a Flame Ionization Detector (FID). The urinary methyl hippuric acid (MHA) was analyzed with High performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) equipped with an ultraviolet (UV) detector.
Total xylene exposure was 1.05±0.55 ppm (mean±SD) with a range of 0.20-2.55 ppm that was about 4 times more than taxi drivers' exposure. The poor correlation coefficient was seen between xylenes concentration and urinary MHA for drivers (r2= 0.09 to 0.42) but significant associations were noted between urinary MHA and xylene in the breathing zone of petrol station workers (r2= 0.69 to 0.77; P< 0.05).
High xylenes levels are emitted in petrol stations at Iran. Urinary MHA level has a poor correlation with exposure to xylenes in drivers but has good correlation in petrol station workers.
本研究旨在评估低浓度二甲苯暴露情况，并比较伊朗西部出租车司机和加油站工作人员尿中马尿酸的水平。
本观察性研究于2003年3月至2004年3月在伊朗西部哈马丹市的两个职业组中对接触二甲苯的男性样本进行。受试者包括45名出租车司机和25名加油站工作人员。通过简单随机抽样从54名加油站工作人员和300名司机中选取研究组。使用配备火焰离子化检测器（FID）的气相色谱法分析二甲苯。用配备紫外（UV）检测器的高效液相色谱法（HPLC）分析尿中马尿酸（MHA）。
二甲苯总暴露量为1.05±0.55 ppm（均值±标准差），范围为0.20 - 2.55 ppm，约为出租车司机暴露量的4倍。司机的二甲苯浓度与尿中MHA之间的相关系数较差（r2 = 0.09至0.42），但在加油站工作人员呼吸带中，尿中MHA与二甲苯之间存在显著关联（r2 = 0.69至0.77；P < 0.05）。
伊朗加油站二甲苯排放水平较高。尿中MHA水平与司机二甲苯暴露的相关性较差，但与加油站工作人员的相关性良好。
