Chemistry
and Human Health Division
Clinical Chemistry Section
Commission on Toxicology
Biological Monitoring for Exposure
to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
This paper deals with the appropriate application of biological monitoring
(BM) for exposure to volatile organic chemicals (VOC). Sampling guidelines,
approved analytical procedures, as well as quality control systems besides
detailed aspects for the interpretation of biomonitoring data, together
with a compilation of international biological action values for VOC
exposure at the workplace (e.g., BAT, BEI�) and state-of-the-art reference
values are outlined or referred to in this review for recommendation
and as guidelines for health professionals in occupational and environmental
settings.
VOC are frequently encountered at the workplace, in daily routines,
and in widely used consumer products. They cover a broad spectrum of
chemical classes with different physicochemical and biological properties.
Due to their volatility, inhalation is a prominent route of exposure,
but many of them can, in addition, be taken up by skin absorption quite
readily. BM-that allows one to assess the integrated exposure by different
routes, including inhalation and concomitant dermal and oral uptake-provides
especially for VOC a helpful tool for relating exposure to body burden
and possible health effects; however, because of the different toxicological
profiles of VOC, no uniform approach for BM can be recommended.
VOC in blood besides urinary VOC metabolites are most often applied
for BM, and limit values for workplace exposure have been established
for many VOC. In this field, profound analytical methodology and extensive
experience exist for reliable routine application in numerous international
scientific laboratories. Contamination and loss of VOC during specimen
collection, storage, and sample treatment are the most important uncertainty
compounds for analytical quantification of VOC in blood.
For interpretation of the analytical results, appropriate time of sampling
according to toxicokinetics of the compound is crucial due to VOC elimination
with often short but differing biological half-times. Life style factors
(such as smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and dietary habits), workload,
personal working habits, exposure to VOC mixtures besides endogenous
factors (such as genetic polymorphism for VOC-metabolizing enzymes,
body mass) contribute to BM results and have to be considered in detail.
Future analytical work should focus on the improvement of analytical
methodology of VOC determination in body fluids at low-level environmental
exposure and evaluation of corresponding reference intervals.
Comments by 29 February 2000
To Dr. R. Heinrich-Ramm
Zentralinstitut f�r Arbeitsmedizin
Adolph-Sch�nfelder-Str. 5
D-22083 Hamburg, Germany
Tel.: +49-40-428-63-2791
Fax: +49-40-428-63-2785
E-mail: [email protected]
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