L'analisi del toluene nella saliva come stima dell'esposizione occupazionale

Toluene is one of the most widely used industrial solvents. Biomonitoring of toluene exposure is commonly performed by determination of urinary hippuric acid, o-cresol or toluene itself. The analysis of blood toluene has been verified as another method for biomonitoring. We studied a group of 28 workers exposed to toluene in the synthetic leathers industry, and 10 non-exposed workers as a control group, to measure the solvent concentration in saliva specimens as an alternative method for biomonitoring. Saliva was collected into Salivette (Sarstedt, Germany) devices by sterile cotton rolls put into the mouth and further squeezed into pre-weighted vials. Environmental toluene was collected for a work-shift by Radiello (FSM, Italy) passive samplers. Toluene in urine and in saliva (head space analvsis), and in environmental samples was measured by GC-MS. Significant correlations were found between salivary levels of toluene (range: 0.48 - 11.94 μg/L) and both environmental (3.10 - 78.89 mg/m³) [r = 0.74] and urinary concentration of the solvent (0.91 - 23.42 μg/L) [r = 0.65]. In conclusion, salivary toluene could be considered as one of the possible biomarker of exposure to toluene, being sampling of saliva non-invasive and easy to perform at workplace. Further researches for the standardization and validation are necessary.