Decline of blood and alveolar toluene concentration following two accidental human poisonings.

In two workers admitted to hospital because of a coma due to an accidental occupational exposure to a mixture of solvents, the level of toluene was respectively 823-1122 micrograms/l in the blood and 53-38 micrograms/l in the alveolar air on the second day of admission (36 h after the accidental exposure). On the fifth day, 112 h after exposure, the toluene level was 120-45 micrograms/l in the blood and 3-1 micrograms/l in the alveolar air. The urinary excretion of o-cresol, calculated as a toluene equivalent, was 0.8-0.9 mg on the second day and 1.7-1.6 mg on the third day. Urinary hippuric acid, as a toluene equivalent, was 1.7-1.4 g on the second day and 1.3-0.7 g on the third day. A half-life of between 19 and 21 h was calculated for toluene both in the blood and in the alveolar air.