Open AccessEffect of the reduction of skin contamination on the internal dose of creosote workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Author(s) -
Joost G.M. van Rooij,
E. M. A. Van Lieshout,
M. M. Bodelier-Bade,
F. J. Jongeneelen
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of work, environment and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.621
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1795-990X
pISSN - 0355-3140
DOI - 10.5271/sjweh.1322
Subject(s) - pyrene , creosote , contamination , environmental chemistry , toxicology , urine , chemistry , biology , organic chemistry , ecology , biochemistry
Ten creosote-exposed workers of a wood impregnation plant participated in this study, which took place in two consecutive weeks on a Monday, after a weekend off. On one of the two days each worker wore Tyvek coveralls underneath his normal workclothes. Dermal contamination measurements (pyrene on exposure pads) and biological monitoring (urinary 1-OH-pyrene) were performed to measure the reduction of both the skin contamination and the internal dose. The total pyrene skin contamination of workers not wearing coveralls ranged between 47 and 1510 micrograms.d-1 (0.2-7.5 mumol.d-1). On the average, the coveralls reduced the pyrene contamination on the workers' skin by about 35 (SD 63)%. The excreted amount of 1-OH-pyrene in urine decreased significantly from 6.6 to 3.2 micrograms (30.2 to 14.7 nmol). Multiple regression analysis showed that skin contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is the main determinant of the internal exposure dose of creosote workers.