Breathing Zone and Exhaled Breath Concentrations of 1-Bromopropane from Workers Exposed to Foam Adhesives

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hanley, Kevin W. ; Sanderson, Wayne T.
• Description:
  1-Bromopropane (1-BP) has been marketed as an alternative for ozone depleting solvents and suspect carcinogens and is used for metal, precision, and electronics cleaning; aerosols; and adhesives. Toxicity of 1-BP is poorly understood, but it may be a neurologic, reproductive, and hematologic toxin. Sparse exposure information prompted NIOSH to conduct an exposure assessment using inhalation, exhaled breath, and urinary metabolite measures. One objective is to evaluate exhaled breath concentrations of I-BP using a field practical collection method. Exhaled breath analysis can be a powerful, non-invasive tool that indirectly estimates inhalational and dermal exposure. Three-liter Tedlar@ breath bags were used which contained waste air diverting valves to ensure end-tidal breath collection. Alveolar breath samples were obtained from workers before and after work on two consecutive days and before work on the third day at facilities using I-BP adhesives to construct polyurethane foam seat cushions. After collection, breath samples were adsorbed on Anasorb CMS synthetic charcoal tubes and analyzed by gas chromatography via NIOSH Method 1025. This strategy allows breath samples to be analyzed by a contract laboratory, thereby eliminating chemical analysis with portable instrumentation in the field. Personal breathing zone concentrations of 1-BP ranged from 45-200 ppm from adhesive sprayers and from 0.8-60 ppm from other jobs. For sprayers, 1-BP breath concentrations ranged from 3.2-22 ppm in the immediate post-shift samples, and from 0.4-4.4 ppm in the 16-hour post exposure (next day pre-shift) samples. Overall, breath concentrations for non-spraying jobs were substantially less than for the sprayers, with a post-shift mean of 5.4 versus 12.6 ppm, respectively. This study demonstrates that respiratory elimination is an important excretion pathway for this solvent, exhaled breath is an effective method to evaluate 1-BP exposure, and skin absorption may be an important route of exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Adhesives Aerosols Carcinogens Hazardous Substances Metals Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety Skin Skin Absorption Solvents

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• Keywords:
  Breathing-zone Exposure-levels Gas-chromatography Inhalation-studies Occupational-exposure Skin-absorption Toxins Workers
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  68-69
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022867
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 10-15, 2003, Dallas, Texas. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2003 May; :68-69
• CAS Registry Number:
  1-Bromopropane (CAS RN 106-94-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 10-15, 2003, Dallas, Texas
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:808b7fe5ce49845db501373079deb2a6bfe27d751a14262ebf01bc5bbb9973e782af6d8988daf9605701c9c2d4a38443e57bd1ffb3a0513e4c8db0b986a084f1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199498/cdc_199498_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 488.31 KB ]