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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 26,
Number 1, January/February 2002, pp. 23-28
Analysis of Styrene and its Metabolites in Blood and Urine
of Workers Exposed to both Styrene and Acetone
M.J. Prieto, D. Marhuenda, and A. Cardona*
División de Medicina Legal y Forense, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad
Miguel Hernández, Campus de San Juan, Carretera Alicante-Valencia Km
87, Apdo. Correos nš 18 - E-03550 San Juan (Alicante), Spain
A purge-and-trap gas chromatographic (PT-GC) method for determining
styrene concentrations in urine and blood samples has been used in the biological
monitoring of workers exposed to styrene and acetone. Blood and urine samples
were collected from 34 individuals exposed to both solvents at the end of a
4-h shift and measured for styrene in urine (Su), blood (Sb), and the two major
urinary metabolites, mandelic acid (MA) and phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA). A second
urine sample was taken at the beginning of the next shift. Environmental exposure
was measured using passive personal monitoring and GC. Urinary excretion of
MA and PGA was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. The average
exposures to styrene and acetone were 70.5 mg/m3 and 370.5 mg/m3, respectively.
In end-of-shift samples there was a significant correlation between concentrations
of Su and Sb and the metabolites PGA, MA (r = 0.714 and 0.788, p < 0.001
for Su and r = 0.644 and 0.566, p < 0.005 for Sb). A high correlation between
Sb and Su (r = 0.732, p < 0.001) also existed. Poor correlations were found
between Su and metabolites in samples collected at the beginning of the next
shift (r = 0.491 and 0.474 for PGA and MA, respectively, p < 0.05). There
was a better correlation between the biological parameters at the end of the
shift and the environmental styrene (r = 0.841 for PGA, r = 0.834 for MA, r
= 0.788 for Su, and r = 0.698 for Sb; p < 0.001) compared with those at the
start of the shift (r = 0.81 for PGA, 0.675 for MA, and 0.650 for Su; p <
0.001). We found that the concentration of excreted metabolites decreased significantly
when environmental concentrations of acetone increased (p < 0.05), particularly
at the end of the shift. Although the best correlation with environmental styrene
was obtained with the sum of PGA and MA at the end of the shift (r = 0.862,
p < 0.001), urine and blood styrene were shown to be more useful biological
monitoring indicators because their concentrations were not affected by acetone
co-exposure.
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