Occupational exposure monitoring using breath analysis.

Breath analysis has been proposed on numerous occasions for monitoring solvent exposure. Nevertheless, it is still rarely used routinely because of difficulties in the methodology itself (sampling and analysis) and lack of data concerning its relationship to exposure dose. The various methods available today are briefly reviewed, compared, and discussed. Emphasis is on the simultaneous use of CO2 as a respiratory index. Two methods using this approach are presented. The advantages and limitations of breath analysis for occupational exposure monitoring are discussed using data obtained in experimental, field, and simulation studies. Benzene toluene, styrene, 1,1,1-trichloroethylene, and tetrachloroethylene are taken as examples of solvents showing various toxicokinetic properties. Finally, breath analysis is compared with other biological monitoring methods.