Abstract
Vehicle exhausts are a well known source of aromatic hydrocarbon pollution in urban environments. The paper reports the results of environmental and biological monitoring of benzene exposure in traffic wardens carried out over a 5-hour workshift. Subjects (n=131) were grouped according to smoking habits and job task as follows: group (A) 52 nonsmoking office workers, (B) 43 nonsmoking outdoor workers, subdivided into (B1) 36 working on foot and (B2) 7 cyclists; (C) 20 smokers office workers, (D) 16 smokers out-door workers, subdivided into (D1) 11 working on foot and (D2) 5 cyclists. The median indoor environmental benzene concentration (26 μg/m3, n=50) was significantly lower than the outdoor concentration (45 mg/m3, n=43) (p3 (n=12). For biological monitoring, urinary excretion of trans, trans-muconic acid was determined in spot samples collected at 7:30 h (MAit) and 12:30 h (MAft). The MAft(A) median value (63 μg/l, range 2-242 μg/l) was not statistically different from MAft(B) (74 mg/l, range 15-216 μg/l), while the MAft(B2) value of 96 μg/l was higher than both MAft(B1) (71 mg/l) and MAft(A). In group (B) there was a relationship between airborne benzene levels and MAft(B) excretion (y=17.2+1.1x, r=0.62, n=35, p3, such as those seen in this study; MA can however be reliably used as a biomarker for higher exposures such as those, for example, due to smoking.
Translated title of the contribution | Biological monitoring of environmental exposure to benzene in traffic wardens |
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Original language | Italian |
Pages (from-to) | 208-219 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Medicina del Lavoro |
Volume | 88 |
Issue number | 3 |
Publication status | Published - 1997 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health