Human exposure to trichloroethylene (TRI) and tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene, PER) through air, food and drinking water was assessed by biological monitoring. By stratified sampling 39 subjects with no known solvent exposure were selected from the residents of the city of Zagreb (the capital of the Republic of Croatia). TRI and PER were determined in blood and their metabolites trichloroethanol (TCE) and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in plasma and urine. Drinking water samples were also taken for TRI and PER determination. TRI was present in measurable concentrations in 22 subjects (range: 0.026-0.090 micrograms/l) and PER in 31 subjects (range: 0.031-2.540 micrograms/l). TCE was not detected in any of the samples, while TCA was determined in all plasma (range: 13.54-160.42 micrograms/l) and urine samples (range: 1.64-291.76 micrograms/24h). In drinking water samples TRI and PER values were also in a very wide range: 0.69-35.90 micrograms/l and 0.36-7.80 micrograms/l, respectively. The variation of all results presented is most probably a reflection of the different environmental contamination with TRI and PER in the different city areas.
Exposure of the general population to trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene under normal environmental conditions, achieved with biological monitoring, was assessed, and the possible influence of these compounds via drinking water on the body burden was revealed. A total of 79 subjects with no known solvent exposure was selected, by stratified sampling, from the residents of the city of Zagreb. Trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene were determined in blood, and trichloroethanol and trichloroacetic acid were determined in plasma and urine. Drinking water samples were also analyzed for trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene. Concentrations of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in blood, trichloroacetic acid in plasma, trichloroacetic acid in urine, trichloroethylene in drinking water, and tetrachloroethylene in drinking water were as follows: < 0.015 to 0.090 micrograms/l, < 0.010 to 0.239 micrograms/l, 8.6 to 148.1 micrograms/l, 1.67 to 102.3 micrograms/24 h, < 0.05 to 22.93 micrograms/l, and 0.21 to 7.80 micrograms/l, respectively. The variation in all results presented is probably a reflection of different environmental contamination with trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in the different city areas. Correlation analyses revealed significant relationships between trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in blood (r = .402, p = .0004); trichloroacetic acid in urine and in plasma (r = .522, p = .0000); and trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in drinking water (r = .800, p = .0000). A division of all parameters into a subgroup (n = 58), taking drinking water concentrations of trichloroethylene above 3 micrograms/l as a basis, demonstrated the same significant relationships as mentioned above.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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