Trichloroethylene is widely used for organic solvent in many industries. There are many workers who are exposed to trichloroethylene in Korea. If workers are exposed to trichloroethylene after ingestion of ethanol or phenobarbital, there might be
an
increased risk of toxicity due to combined exposures of chemicals. This study was performed to find out the influences of ethanol and phenobarbital on the levels of trichloroethylene in rats. Trichloroethylene was administered orally at the doses
of
150, 750, 1,500, and 3,000mg/kg after pretreatment of 4g/kg ethanol or 80mg/kg phenobarbital. Trichloroethylene in blood was not detected at 12 hours after oral administration of trichloroethylene. Administered amount of trichloroethylene and its
total
blood concentration had a positive relationship. The level of blood trichloroethylene was decreased faster in ethanol and phenobarbital pretreated groups than in the control group. Amounts of urinary free trichloroethanol were larger at the doses
of
150, 750, and 1,500mg/kg of trichloroethylene with pretreated phenobarbital group than in the control group. Total amounts of urinary conjugated trichloroethanol were larger in pretreated ethanol and phenobarbital groups than in the control
group.
In
the henobarbital pretreated group, there was a increasing tendency of excertion of urinary trichloroacetic acid. These results showed that intake of ethanol and phenobarbital may alter the metabolism of trichloroethylene in rats.
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