The objective of this study was to evaluated the correlation between airborne benzene concentrations and urinary muconic acid and that between airborne benzene concentrations and urinary phenol concentrations.
The high performance chromatographic method used to measure the muconic acid
concentrations in urine samples collected form 37 workers exposed to benzene and 155 non-exposed workers.
The time weighted average benzene concentrations in breathing zone of workers were also determined.
The physical examination and blood counts(hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cell, and white blood cell) were made for both workers exposed to benzene and control group.
@ES The results are as follows:
@EN 1. The geometric mean concentration of muconic acid in urine from workers exposed to benzene was 4. 49mg/1(0. 90-31. 40mg/1), which was higher than that of non-ex-posed workers.
2. There was a significant difference in the mean concentration of muconic acid between workers exposed to 5-10ppm and workers exposed to 5ppm or below of airborne benzene
concentrations.
The muconic acid concentrations in urine correlated with bezene concentrations in the breathing zone of workers(r=0.56).
3. The phenol concentrations in urine did not correlate with airborne benzene concentrations in the breathing zone of workers.
4. As the result of stepwise multiple regression analysis of the subjects exposed to benzene, accumulative R square of muconic acid concentration in urine, smoke, and drink was 25.1% in relation to the hemoglobin concentration.
|