In 2008, the indium-contaminated workplace air was improved by local exhaust ventilation systems installed in some processes, resulting in control class I. According to the 2010 Technical Guideline, however, all the processes were classified into stage II or III, indicating that the first assessment value or Measurement B-based concentrations exceeded the a c c e p t a b l e e x p o s u r e c o n c e n t r a t i o n l i m i t o f 0.0003 mg In/m 3 of respirabe dust. Exposure of almost all the workers to indium dust was below the TLV-TWA.
Conclusions:The first field survey showed that almost all workplaces were classified into control class III, and that some workers were exposed to dust with indium concentrations exceeding the TLV-TWA. It was found in the second survey that workplace air contamination was improved by the local exhaust ventilation system, but was not reduced sufficiently to a level that meets
We evaluated total body burden of N,N-dimethylformamide
(DMF) taken through the lung and skin by personal exposure of workers to DMF and
urinalysis of N-methylformamide (NMF) and
N-acetyl-S(N-methylcarbamoyl)-cysteine
(AMCC). A total of 270 workers were engaged in four different jobs in a workplace distant
from main production lines emanating high levels of DMF. They were not required to wear
any personal protective equipment including respirators or gloves. We found that
log-transformed urinary levels of NMF and AMCC increased with an increase in
log-transformed concentrations of exposure to DMF. Urinary levels of NMF and AMCC were
significantly higher in the summer than the winter, although there was no significant
seasonal difference in the concentrations of exposure to DMF. Our findings suggested that
the increased urinary levels of NMF and AMCC in the summer resulted in increased skin
absorption of DMF due to an increased amount of DMF absorbed by the moisturized skin under
humid and hot conditions. Seasonal changes in the relative internal exposure index
confirmed the present finding of enhanced summertime skin absorption of DMF. AMCC is
thought to be a useful biomarker for assessments of cumulative exposure to DMF over a
workweek and for evaluations of workers’ health effects.
summer were attributed to increased percutaneous absorption of DMF resulting from the increased amount of water-soluble DMF absorbed by sweaty skin caused by the increased summertime room temperature and humidity. (J Occup Health 2014; 56: 252-259)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.