Open AccessUse of breath analysis to monitor methylene chloride exposure.
Author(s) -
Richard D. Stewart,
Carl L. Hake,
Anthony Wu
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of work, environment and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1795-990X
pISSN - 0355-3140
DOI - 10.5271/sjweh.2817
Subject(s) - methylene , occupational exposure , chloride , chemistry , breath gas analysis , chromatography , toxicology , medicine , organic chemistry , emergency medicine , biology
Twenty male and female subjects were exposed repetitively to methylene chloride (CH2Cl2) vapor, 50, 100, 250, and 500 ppm, for 1,3, or 7.5 h in a controlled-environment chamber. Postexposure alveolar breath samples were collected in small glass breath tubes and analyzed for CH2Cl2 by gas chromatography. From these data is a series of breath CH2Cl2 excretion curves were constructed that can be used to estimate the magnitude of a recent exposure. The CH2CL2 breath concentration in the immediate postexposure period accurately reflected the vapor concentration to which the subjects had been exposed most recently. Breath samples collected 1--2 h following exposure were accurate indicators of the time-weighted average vapor exposure experienced by the subjects during the previous 8 h of occupational exposure. Breath analysis offers a practical, noninvasive method for monitoring occupational exposure to CH2Cl2.