Bentsen R K, Notø H, Halgard K, Ovrebø S
Department of Toxicology, National Institute of Occupational Health, Oslo, Norway.
Ann Occup Hyg. 1998 Feb;42(2):135-44. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4878(97)00050-1.
Large amounts of polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are found in the work environment of electrode paste workers. Inhalation and skin uptake are both important routes for PAH exposure. We have studied the effect of dust-protective respirator masks by measuring urinary 1-hydroxypyrene as a biomarker for PAH exposure. Eighteen workers divided into work categories at the factory were monitored by personal air sampling and urinary 1-hydroxypyrene every work shift for two consecutive weeks. In the second week of the study, the workers were encouraged to wear respirator masks persistently, which resulted in a significant reduction in urinary 1-hydroxypyrene in end-of-shift samples (paired t-test, P = 0.009). When correcting urinary 1-hydroxypyrene for ambient air pyrene we found on average 41% reduction in urinary 1-hydroxypyrene concentration in the second week of the intervention study. There was a work-category dependent variation in the correlation between end-of-shift urinary 1-hydroxypyrene samples and pyrene measured in the breathing zone of the workers, most likely due to variable skin uptake of pyrene; the overall correlation coefficient was 0.26 (P = 0.015). The 1-hydroxypyrene concentration in pre- and post-shift urine samples varied between 0.7 and 69.6 mumol/mol creatinine in the normal work week, and depended on the work category. The particulate PAH exposure ranged from 0.6 to 21.4 micrograms/m3. The ratio of particulate pyrene to benzo[a]pyrene varied from 1.6 to 8.0 amongst the various work categories within the same plant. Multiple regression analysis showed that smoking and work day are explanatory variables for the concentration of 1-hydroxypyrene in urine. Thirty-nine percent of the variation in the urinary 1-hydroxypyrene level at the end of shift could be explained by the independent variables pyrene concentration in air, smoking habits, work day, use of respiratory mask, work category and age.
在电极糊工人的工作环境中发现了大量多环芳烃（PAH）。吸入和皮肤吸收都是PAH暴露的重要途径。我们通过测量尿中1-羟基芘作为PAH暴露的生物标志物，研究了防尘口罩的效果。对工厂中分为不同工作类别的18名工人，连续两周在每个工作日班次通过个人空气采样和尿中1-羟基芘进行监测。在研究的第二周，鼓励工人持续佩戴口罩，这导致班次结束时尿中1-羟基芘显著减少（配对t检验，P = 0.009）。在校正尿中1-羟基芘以反映环境空气中芘的含量后，我们发现在干预研究的第二周，尿中1-羟基芘浓度平均降低了41%。班次结束时尿中1-羟基芘样本与工人呼吸带中测量的芘之间的相关性存在工作类别依赖性差异，最可能是由于芘的皮肤吸收不同；总体相关系数为0.26（P = 0.015）。在正常工作周中，班前和班后尿样中1-羟基芘浓度在0.7至69.6 μmol/mol肌酐之间变化，并取决于工作类别。颗粒状PAH暴露范围为0.6至21.4微克/立方米。在同一工厂的不同工作类别中，颗粒状芘与苯并[a]芘的比例在1.6至8.0之间变化。多元回归分析表明，吸烟和工作日是尿中1-羟基芘浓度的解释变量。班次结束时尿中1-羟基芘水平变化的39%可由自变量空气芘浓度、吸烟习惯、工作日、呼吸面罩使用、工作类别和年龄来解释。
