Comparison of the exposure‐excretion relationship between men and women exposed to organic solvents

Abstract

Sex-related difference, Toluene, Un-metabolized solvents in urine, UrinalysisBiological monitoring of occupational exposure to organic solvents (solvents in short) in terms of urinalysis for un-metabolized solvents per se has been gaining attention 1) . For several solvents, biological occupational exposure limits (BOELs) are set not based on the direct exposure-effect relationship, but instead are derived indirectly as the level of a biological exposure indicator that corresponds to the effect-based occupational exposure limit 2) . Usually only one value is set to be applied to both men and women, despite the empirical understanding that body compositions are different between men and women. The setting of a single value is probably due to the fact that historically work in hazardous environments (including workplaces using solvents) has been limited to men. Opportunities are therefore limited to compare the exposure-excretion relationship between the two sexes.This study group had a unique opportunity to study cases in which men and women were working together under conditions of exposure to solvent mixtures. The findings are reported in this communication. Materials and MethodsThe survey was conducted in 1998−9 in a furniture-producing industrial park in southern Japan. Enterprises were mostly of micro-scale with less than 10 workers. Solvents were employed as mixtures in paints, thinner or adhesives, and both men and women were engaged in a series of furniture production processes.Workers serving in the same plant were examined on the same day. In total, 238 men and 60 women in 69 enterprises participated in the survey. The present survey on solvent exposures revealed that 25 men and 7 women were exposed to isopropyl alcohol together with acetone. As isopropyl alcohol is converted to acetone in vivo 3) , these workers were excluded from the analyses. Three subjects who were under treatment for diabetes were also excluded, as diabetes Abstract: Comparison of the exposure-excretion relationship between men and women exposed to organic solvents: Toshio KAWAI, et al. Osaka Occupational Health Service Center-Objectives: The present study was initiated to examine if application of the same biological occupational exposure limits (BOELs) for organic solvents is applicable across the sexes. Methods: A survey was conducted in 69 microscale enterprises in a furniture-producing industrial park. In practice, 211 men and 52 women participated in the survey. They worked in a series of production process, and were exposed to solvent vapor mixtures. The exposure intensities were monitored with two types of diffusive samplers, one with carbon cloth (for solvents in general) and the other with water (for methyl alcohol) as adsorbents. Solvents in the adsorbents and headspace air from urine samples were analyzed with capillary FID-GC. The measured values were subjected to linear regression analysis followed by statistical evaluation for possible sex-related differences in slopes. Results: Essentially no significant difference ...

Simplified procedures for estimation of biological occupational exposure limits

“…In practice, full data sets are available only for six solvents (Table ), posing severe limitation in generalization of the study conclusion. Wide use of biological monitoring by means of un‐metabolized solvent in end‐of‐shift urine samples is positively encouraged, because urine sampling is not invasive and methods for urinalysis are well established …”

“…Data employed in the present analysis are summarized in Table , in which the data for men and women were treated separately. The methods for determination of 8‐hour time‐weighted average intensity of the solvent exposure and the solvent concentration in the end‐of‐shift urine samples were also previously reported, namely, for example, by diffusive sampling for air monitoring and by head‐space gas chromatography for urinalysis. Regression analyses and paired t test were carried out after Ichihara…”

“…Wide use of biological monitoring by means of un-metabolized solvent in end-of-shift urine samples is positively encouraged, because urine sampling is not invasive and methods for urinalysis are well established. 6,7,11,13 The constant ratio between solvent exposure and urinary excretion across individuals has been empirically approved, but theoretical consideration is yet to be made. The development of the theory on this point deserves further study.…”

Relação entre desempenho neurocognitivo e composição corporal de homens e mulheres expostos a solventes orgânicos

“…Contudo, a maioria das pesquisas tem sido realizada com homens (Saygun et al, 2012;Song, Yu, & Lao, 2015;Thetkathuek, Jaidee, Saowakhontha, & Ekburanawat, 2015) ou animais machos (Beasley, Evansky, & Bushnell, 2012;Zhong et al, 2013), provavelmente por que o sexo masculino ainda é maioria neste tipo de atividade (Vahter et al, 2007), ou devido a crença histórica de que o trabalho em ambientes de risco, incluindo os que lidam com solventes, é restrito aos homens (Mergler, 2012). Esses resultados acabam sendo generalizados as mulheres (Ernstgård et al, 2002) que são expostas aos mesmos limites de tolerância baseados em estudos com o sexo masculino (Kawai, Takeuchi, & Ikeda, 2015).…”

Relationship between Neurocognitive Performance and Body Composition of Men and Women Exposed to Organic Solvents

“…However, most research has been carried out with men (Saygun et al, 2012;Song, Yu, & Lao, 2015;Thetkathuek, Jaidee, Saowakhontha, & Ekburanawat, 2015) or male animals (Beasley, Evansky, & Bushnell, 2012;Zhong et al, 2013), probably because males are still the majority in this type of activity (Vahter et al, 2007), or due to the historical belief that jobs in hazardous environments, including those involving solvents, are restricted to men (Mergler, 2012). These results are eventually generalized to women (Ernstgård et al, 2002) who are exposed to the same tolerance limits based on studies carried out with males (Kawai, Takeuchi, & Ikeda, 2015).…”