Occupational exposure to diisocyanates in polyurethane foam factory workers

Świerczyńska-Machura, Dominika; Brzeźnicki, Sławomir; Nowakowska‐Świrta, Ewa; Walusiak‐Skorupa, Jolanta; Wittczak, Tomasz; Dudek, Wojciech; Bonczarowska, Marzena; Wesołowski, Wiktor; Czerczak, Sławomir; Pałczyński, Cezary

doi:10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00284

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The short half-lives of amines and the timing of sampling in relation to the activities are probably also influential and another factor that could contribute to the observed large variability is the use of RPE; when comparing the studies on HDI in the MVR we noticed that virtually all sprayers in the UK study wore air-fed visors whereas these were not used in the Netherlands. Swierczynska-Machura et al (2015) also stated that the lack of observed correlation with air levels in their study could be due to the use of RPE.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Continuous foam production has been the most studied individual process [six papers from five different European Union (EU) countries], although the number of workers per study was generally small ( N < 30) ( Table 3 ). Maximum observed results ranged from 3.9 µmol mol −1 creatinine ( Swierczynska-Machura et al , 2015 ) to 97 µmol mol −1 creatinine ( Geens et al , 2012 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Except where respiratory protective equipment (RPE) use or skin contact was significant (and noted), there was generally a strong correlation ( r > 0.8) between urine TDA and airborne TDI ( Sennbro et al , 2004 ; Sakai et al , 2005 ; Littorin et al , 2007 ; Säkkinen et al , 2011 ; Geens et al , 2012 ; Swierczynska-Machura et al , 2015 ). However, the resulting estimates of a urine TDA level from a 5 ppb TDI exposure varied significantly from 4.1 µmol mol −1 creatinine ( Swierczynska-Machura et al , 2015 ); (only based on GM correlations) to ~66 µmol mol −1 creatinine ( Sennbro et al , 2004 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biomonitoring for Occupational Exposure to Diisocyanates: A Systematic Review

Scholten

Kenny

Duca

et al. 2020

Annals of Work Exposures and Health

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Abstract Diisocyanates are a group of chemicals that are widely used in occupational settings. They are known to induce various health effects, including skin- and respiratory tract sensitization resulting in allergic dermatitis and asthma. Exposure to diisocyanates has been studied in the past decades by using different types of biomonitoring markers and matrices. The aim of this review as part of the HBM4EU project was to assess: (i) which biomarkers and matrices have been used for biomonitoring diisocyanates and what are their strengths and limitations; (ii) what are (current) biomonitoring levels of the major diisocyanates (and metabolites) in workers; and (iii) to characterize potential research gaps. For this purpose we conducted a systematic literature search for the time period 2000–end 2018, thereby focussing on three types of diisocyanates which account for the vast majority of the total isocyanate market volume: hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI), and 4,4′-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). A total of 28 publications were identified which fulfilled the review inclusion criteria. The majority of these studies (93%) investigated the corresponding diamines in either urine or plasma, but adducts have also been investigated by several research groups. Studies on HDI were mostly in the motor vehicle repair industry [with urinary hexamethylene diamine result ranging from 0.03 to 146.5 µmol mol−1 creatinine]. For TDI, there is mostly data on foam production [results for urinary toluene diamine ranging from ~0.01 to 97 µmol mol−1 creatinine] whereas the available MDI data are mainly from the polyurethane industry (results for methylenediphenyl diamine range from 0.01 to 32.7 µmol mol−1 creatinine). About half of the studies published were prior to 2010 hence might not reflect current workplace exposure. There is large variability within and between studies and across sectors which could be potentially explained by several factors including worker or workplace variability, short half-lives of biomarkers, and differences in sampling strategies and analytical techniques. We identified several research gaps which could further be taken into account when studying diisocyanates biomonitoring levels: (i) the development of specific biomarkers is promising (e.g. to study oligomers of HDI which have been largely neglected to date) but needs more research before they can be widely applied, (ii) since analytical methods differ between studies a more uniform approach would make comparisons between studies easier, and (iii) dermal absorption seems a possible exposure route and needs to be further investigated. The use of MDI, TDI, and HDI has been recently proposed to be restricted in the European Union unless specific conditions for workers’ training and risk management measures apply. This review has highlighted the need for a harmonized approach to establishing a baseline against which the success of the restriction can be evaluated.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biomonitoring for Occupational Exposure to Diisocyanates: A Systematic Review

Scholten

Kenny

Duca

et al. 2020

Annals of Work Exposures and Health

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“…Most chemicals employed in the production of widely used plastic products and polymers are known to be hazardous to human health [ 1 ]. Toluene diisocyanate (TDI), a polymer of polyurethane resin, is a suspected cause of occupational allergies (OAs) in workers exposed to plastic resins [ 1 , 2 ]. When a worker dealing with TDI develops symptoms of respiratory allergy, OA is often suspected and tested for by examining the levels of TDI-specific immunoglobulin Gs (IgGs) in the patient’s blood [ 3 , 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, detecting the presence of TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs in serum is a very useful method by which TDI- and TMA-related OAs can be identified. However, as of now, only TDI-specific IgGs are used to test for OAs in workers handling urethane resins [ 2 , 13 , 14 ]. However, since TMA has a possibility to be used in conjunction with TDI in many factories, it is also essential to find a marker that can be employed to identify OAs caused by TMA exposure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of chemical-specific IgG antibodies in male workers from a urethane foam factory

Tsuji

Ishihara

Isse

et al. 2018

Environ Health Prev Med

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BackgroundPlastic resins are complex chemicals that contain toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and/or trimellitic anhydride (TMA), which cause occupational allergies (OA), including respiratory allergies. Serum IgGs against TDI and TMA have been suggested as potential markers of the exposure status and as exploring cause of OA. Although TDI-specific IgG has been examined for suspected OA, TMA-specific IgG is not commonly evaluated in a urethane foam factory. This study therefore investigated both TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs in suspected OA patients and to evaluate the usefulness of the measurement of multiple chemical-specific IgG measurement for practical monitoring.MethodsBlood samples were collected from two male workers who developed respiratory allergies supposedly caused by occupational exposure to TDI and/or TMA for the presence of TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs. In addition, blood samples from 75 male workers from a urethane foam factory, along with 87 male control subjects, were collected in 2014 and tested for the same IgGs in 2014. The presence and levels of TDI- and TMA-specific serum IgGs were measured using dot blot assays.ResultsWe found that controls had mean concentrations of TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs of 0.98 and 2.10 μg/mL, respectively. In the two workers with respiratory allergies, the TDI-specific IgG concentrations were 15.6 and 9.51 μg/mL, and TMA-specific IgG concentrations were 4.56 and 14.4 μg/mL, which are clearly higher than those in controls. Mean concentrations of TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs in the factory workers were 1.89 and 2.41 μg/mL, respectively, and are significantly higher than those of the controls (P < 0.001 and P < 0.026 for TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs, respectively).ConclusionThe workers suspected of OA showed an evidently high level of TDI- and TMA-specific IgG, and these levels in workers at the urethane foam factory were also significantly higher than those in controls. In conclusion, the measurement of TDI- and TMA-specific IgG among workers using plastic resins is helpful to monitor their exposure status.

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