Breath measurements as volatile organic compound biomarkers

Journal Article · Tue Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · Environmental Health Perspectives

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/3433003· OSTI ID:530609

Wallace, L; Buckley, T ^[1]; Pellizzari, E ^[2]; Gordon, S ^[3]

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1. Environmental Protection Agency, Reston, VA (United States)
2. Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)
3. Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH (United States)

A brief review of the uses of breath analysis in studies of environmental exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is provided. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s large-scale Total Exposure Assessment Methodology Studies have measured concentrations of 32 target VOCs in the exhaled breath of about 800 residents of various U.S. cities. Since the previous 12-hr integrated personal air exposures to the same chemicals were also measured, the relation between exposure and body burden is illuminated. Another major use of the breath measurements has been to detect unmeasured pathways of exposure; the major impact of active smoking on exposure to benzene and styrene was detected in this way. Following the earlier field studies, a series of chamber studies have provided estimates of several important physiological parameters. Among these are the fraction, f, of the inhaled chemical that is exhaled under steady-state conditions and the residence times, {tau}{sub i} in several body compartments, which may be associated with the blood (or liver), organs, muscle, and fat. Most of the targeted VOCs appear to have similar residence times of a few minutes, 30 min, several hours, and several days in the respective tissue groups. Knowledge of these parameters can be helpful in estimating body burden from exposure or vice versa and in planning environmental studies, particularly in setting times to monitor breath in studies of the variation with time of body burden. Improvements in breath methods have made it possible to study short-term peak exposure situations such as filling a gas tank or taking a shower in contaminated water. 81 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 530609
• Report Number(s): CONF-9504282--
• Journal Information: Environmental Health Perspectives, Journal Name: Environmental Health Perspectives Journal Issue: Suppl.5 Vol. 104; ISSN 0091-6765; ISSN EVHPAZ
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
AIR POLLUTION
BENZENE
BIOLOGICAL MARKERS
BODY BURDEN
BREATH
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
INHALATION
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
TOXICITY
UNLEADED GASOLINE