Exposure to methyl tertiary-butyl ether from oxygenated gasoline in Stamford, Connecticut

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ashley DL ; Buchta, Teresa M. ; Johnson CA ; Pelletier DJ ; White MC
• Description:
  A study was conducted to determine the health effects of exposure to methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (1634044) (MTBE) in gasoline in Stamford, Connecticut. Subjects included 37 individuals who work near traffic or automobiles, and 14 commuters. The occupationally exposed group included workers inside car repair garages, gasoline service station attendants, and other workers who spent time in traffic. Subjects were given questionnaires relating to health and exposure. Venous blood samples from 30 workers and breathing zone air samples from 37 workers were taken and analyzed to determine levels of MTBE, benzene (71432), toluene (108883) and xylene (1330207). Odds ratios and confidence intervals were calculated for the collected data. Blood sample MTBE levels were variable, but were highest in service station employees. Commuters and workers who spent time in traffic exhibited similar levels of blood MTBE. Eleven subjects exhibited blood MTBE levels greater than 2.4 micrograms/liter, and these individuals reported the highest incidence of symptoms such as headache, eye irritation, dizziness, and nausea. Levels of MTBE in breathing zone air samples correlated with those for benzene. The authors conclude that the exposure information collected in this study will be helpful in assessing the health risks presented by MTBE exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Hematologic Tests Hydrocarbons Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Vehicle Emissions
• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Automobile-repair-shops Automotive-emissions Blood-analysis Environmental-exposure NIOSH-Author Occupational-exposure Service-station-attendants
• ISSN:
  0003-9896
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; Georgia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• 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:
  183-189
• Volume:
  50
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00228031
• Citation:
  Arch Environ Health 1995 May; 50(3):183-189
• Contact Point Address:
  Mary C. White, Sc.D., Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Environmental Health, 4770 Buford Highway, N.E., F39, Atlanta, CA 30341-3724
• CAS Registry Number:
  Benzene (CAS RN 71-43-2) ; tert-Butyl methyl ether (CAS RN 1634-04-4) ; Toluene (CAS RN 108-88-3) ; Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Archives of Environmental Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:28376f9fa69338fc165a1c141adf07a2b01d0e68166113230a83b8df50f26e6fdc8ade6e8ae349a61fe86707a7bc193b4399703bf4d8841f8d6c5083b36153b9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/204743/cdc_204743_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 805.08 KB ]