Original article

Scand J Work Environ Health 1993;19(3):200-207    pdf

https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.1322 | Issue date: 01 Jun 1993

Effect of the reduction of skin contamination on the internal dose of creosote workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

by Van Rooij JGM, Van Lieshout MA, Bodelier-Bade MM, Jongeneelen FJ

Ten creosote-exposed workers of a wood impregnation plant participated in this study, which took place in two consecutive weeks on a Monday, after a weekend off. On one of the two days each worker wore Tyvek® coveralls underneath
his normal workclothes. Dermal contamination measurements (pyrene on exposure pads) and biological monitoring (urinary 1-0H-pyrene) were performed to measure the reduction of both the skin contamination and the internal dose. The total pyrene skin contamination of workers not wearing coveralls ranged between 47 and 1510 µg · d-1 (0.2-7.5 µmol · d-1). On the average, the coveralls reduced the pyrene contamination on the workers` skin by about 35 (SD 63)%. The excreted amount
of 1-0H-pyrene in urine decreased significantly from 6.6 to 3.2 µg (30.2 to 14.7 nmol). Multiple regression
analysis showed that skin contamination by polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons is the main determinant
of the internai exposure dose of creosote workers.