%0 Journal Article %T Urinary 1-naphthol excretion in the assessment of exposure to creosote in an impregnation facility %A Heikkilä, P. R. %A Luotamo, M. %A Riihimäki, Vesa %J Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health %D 1997 %8 June 23 %N 3 %@ 0355-3140 %F Heikkilä1997 %X '

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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.

%K ambient monitoring %K biological monitoring %K polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon %K skin absorption %K wood impregnation %R 10.5271/sjweh.199 %U https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=199 %U https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.199 %P 199-205