Xylene Exposure in a Histology Laboratory Investigated by Environmental and Biological Monitoring.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gunter, Bobby J. ; Lowry, Larry K. ; Phipps, Frederick C. ; Sollenberg J ; Thoburn, Theodore W.
• Description:
  Environmental and biological monitoring were conducted to investigate exposure to xylene (1330207) in technologists in a histology laboratory. Xylene exposure was determined by breathing zone environmental sampling. An estimate of xylene uptake by inhalation was then made by multiplying breathing rate by environmental concentration, length of exposure, and a retention factor. M-methylhippuric-acid, a metabolite of xylene, was measured in urine specimens by isotachophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography. Blood samples were collected for hematology and serum chemistry. Potential health effects of xylene exposure were evaluated by interviews with the technologists on their occupational and medical histories. Time weighted average xylene concentrations were less than 20mg/m3, less than 5 percent of the OSHA permissible exposure limit. Calculated uptake of xylene was low, levels of methylhippuric-acid were near the limits of detection, and no evidence of health effects were found based on physical examination and clinical results. The authors conclude that monitoring tests which include respiratory uptake measurements, biological monitoring, and medical surveillance are important in the assessment of alleged workplace exposures to xylene. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Laboratories Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Urine Xylenes
• Keywords:
  Xylenes; Organic-vapors; Occupational-exposure; Laboratory-workers; Biological-monitoring; Analytical-methods; Urinalysis
• Publisher:
  New York
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  143-153
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00178179
• Citation:
  Biological Monitoring of Exposure to Chemicals, Organic Compounds 1987:143-153
• CAS Registry Number:
  Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7)
• Editor(s):
  Ho MH; Dillon HK
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Biological Monitoring of Exposure to Chemicals, Organic Compounds
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/242486/cdc_242486_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]