Styrene-oxide N-terminal valine haemoglobin adducts as biomarkers of occupational exposure to styrene

Biomonitoring of styrene occupational exposures: Biomarkers and determinants

INTRODUCTION

High styrene exposures are still experienced in various occupational settings, requesting regular exposure assessments. The aims of this study were to study occupational exposures in various industrial sectors and to determine factors influencing styrene urinary metabolites levels.

METHODS

Biomonitoring was conducted in 141 workers from fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) manufacture, thermoplastic polymers production, vehicle repair shops and cured-in-place pipe lining (CIPP). Urinary styrene (StyU) as well as Mandelic (MA) / Phenyglyoxylic Acids (PGA) were quantified at the beginning and at the end of week, and multivariate linear regression models were used.

RESULTS

StyU levels revealed very low, rarely exceeding 3 μg.L^-1. Highest concentrations of MA + PGA were observed in FRP sector, with levels reaching up to 1100 mg.g^-1 of creatinine. Factors influencing end-of-week MA + PGA concentrations were levels at the beginning of week, open molding processes, proximity to the emission source, respiratory protection, styrene content in raw materials. Elevated levels were also observed during CIPP process, whereas thermoplastic injection and vehicle repair shop workers exhibited much lower exposures.

CONCLUSIONS

Intervention on process (decreasing styrene proportion, using closed molding), protective equipment (local exhaust ventilation, respiratory protection) and individual practices (stringent safety rules) are expected to decrease occupational exposures. Urinary MA + PGA remain the most appropriate biomarkers for occupational biomonitoring.

Enantiomeric fraction of styrene glycol as a biomarker of occupational risk exposure to styrene

This work reports a new analytical approach for monitoring the enantiomeric ratios of styrene glycol (SG), encountered during the manufacture of plastics, by chiral liquid chromatography and the application as a biomarker for exposure to styrene. The isomers were separated using an AGP column running in the reverse phase and isocratic mode with a mobile phase consisting of 20 mM phosphate buffer saline (pH 4.15) and methanol at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. Photometric, polarimetric, and circular dichroism detectors were employed. The chromatographic enantioselective resolution (Rs) and selectivity index (α) values were determined to be 1.60 and 1.48 (by photometric detection), respectively. Calibration curves used for the quantification of the SG enantiomers were linear with a correlation coefficient >0.99; the detection limits were in the range of 0.03-0.16 μg, depending on the detector used. Recovery assays on synthetic samples (in triplicate) covering the full range of enantiomeric fractions (0.0-1.0) show accuracy values below 5% for the enantiomeric fraction (EF) in every case. An alternative method based on the measurement of anisotropy factors for the determination of EF, which is faster and does not require the separation of enantiomers, has also been developed. The enantiomeric excess of the toxicant biomarker styrene glycol has been determined. No previous direct enantioselective determination of styrene glycol was published.

Application of biological monitoring for exposure assessment following chemical incidents: a procedure for decision making

Determination of the level of exposure during and after a chemical incident is crucial for the assessment of public health risks and for appropriate medical treatment, as well as for subsequent health studies that may be part of disaster management. Immediately after such an incident, there is usually no opportunity to collect reliable quantitative information on personal exposures and environmental concentrations may fall below detectable levels shortly after the incident has passed. However, many substances persist longer in biological tissues and thus biological monitoring strategies may have the potential to support exposure assessment, as part of health studies, even after the acute phase of a chemical incident is over. Reported successful applications involve very persistent chemical substances such as protein adducts and include those rare cases in which biological tissues were collected within a few hours after an incident. The persistence of a biomarker in biological tissues, the mechanism of toxicity, and the sensitivity of the analysis of a biomarker were identified as the key parameters to support a decision on the feasibility and usefulness of biological monitoring to be applied after an incident involving the release of hazardous chemicals. These input parameters could be retrieved from published methods on applications of biomarkers. Methods for rapid decision making on the usefulness and feasibility of using biological monitoring are needed. In this contribution, a stepwise procedure for taking such a decision is proposed. The persistence of a biomarker in biological tissues, the mechanism of toxicity, and the sensitivity of the analysis of a biomarker were identified as the key parameters to support such a decision. The procedure proposed for decision making is illustrated by case studies based on two documented chemical incidents in the Netherlands.