Use of breath monitoring in assessing exposures to volatile organic solvents

Thesis/Dissertation · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:5086050

Petreas, Myrtoxeni Xenakis

Two techniques were developed to measure volatile organic solvents in exhaled air. The sorbent collector is a hand-held device that concentrates organic vapor(s) from mixed exhaled air on a bed of charcoal. The breath volume is measured with a Wright respirometer and the a adsorbed vapors are analyzed by gas chromatography. The alveolar air monitor is a portable gas chromatograph that collects and analyzes end-exhaled air. A comparison of the two techniques demonstrated a consistent relationship for air concentrations measured from a number of individuals exposed to styrene or tetrachloroethylene (PERC). In a study of dry cleaners, measurements of PERC in mixed exhaled air correlated with simultaneous measurements of PERC in blood and with measurements of exposure. In occupational settings, end-exhaled air measurements correlated well with exposure measurements averaged over a period of 20 minutes. This result was reproduced in chamber studies with highly autocorrelated exposure profiles. However, when the exposure profiles were purely random the relationship between exposure and end-exhaled air was unclear suggesting that breath measurements are of limited value in estimating very short term air exposures. Chamber experiments demonstrated the need for a breath of clean air, prior to end-exhaled air sampling, to eliminate residual styrene released from the lining of the respiratory airways. Inconclusive results were obtained when exhaled air measurements from the field and chamber studies were used to evaluate the physiological damping of the exposure variability at the receptor.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Berkeley, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5086050
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION MONITORS
ALKYLATED AROMATICS
ANIMALS
AROMATICS
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
CLEARANCE
EQUIPMENT
EXCRETION
EXHALATION
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROCARBONS
MAMMALS
MAN
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MEASURING METHODS
METABOLISM
MONITORS
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SOLVENTS
POLLUTION
PORTABLE EQUIPMENT
PRIMATES
RESPIRATION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLVENTS
STYRENE
VERTEBRATES