PT Journal AU Heikkilä, PR Luotamo, M Riihimäki, V TI Urinary 1-naphthol excretion in the assessment of exposure to creosote in an impregnation facility SO Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health PD 6VL PY 1997 BP 199 EP 205 IS 3 DI 10.5271/sjweh.199 WP https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=199 DE ambient monitoring; biological monitoring; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; skin absorption; wood impregnation SN 0355-3140 AB '

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OBJECTIVES ': 'This study explored the possibility of using urinary 1-naphthol excretion as a marker of complex exposure among workers handling creosote

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METHODS ': 'Urine specimens of 6 workers from a creosote impregnation plant, where railroad ties were impregnated with coal tar creosote, were collected during 1 workweek, and the concentration of 1-naphthol was determined. 1-Naphthol in spot urine samples of 5 occupationally nonexposed male smokers was used as the background reference. Concurrently, naphthalene and 10 different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were determined in personal air samples.

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RESULTS ': 'The mean airborne exposure of the workers was 1.5 mg/m3 for vaporous naphthalene, 5.9 µg/m3 for particulate PAH and 1.4 µg/m3 for PAH with 4-6 aromatic rings. The mean urinary concentration of 1-naphthol at the end of the workshift was 20.5 (range 3.5-62.1) µmol/l, whereas the referents` urinary concentration was below the detection limit (0.07 µmol/l). Airborne naphthalene correlated fairly well with 1-naphthol when measured at the end of the shift (r=0.745).

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CONCLUSION ': 'This method of analysis for 1-naphthol is sufficiently sensitive for measuring low occupational exposures to naphthalene. Low background exposures are, however, unlikely to result in detectable urinary levels of 1-naphthol. Since naphthalene is the most abundant compound in creosote vapor, urinary 1-naphthol determination serves well as a biological marker of exposure to vaporous creosote. Urinary 1-naphthol alone is not, however, a suitable marker for inhalatory or cutaneous exposure to PAH originating from creosote.

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