Abstract
The present study was initiated to examine whether urinary benzylmercapturic acid (or N-acetyl- S-benzyl cysteine, BMA), a mercapturate metabolite of toluene, increases in relation to the intensity of toluene exposure, and whether this metabolite is a better marker of occupational exposure to toluene than two traditional markers, hippuric acid and o-cresol. Accordingly, end-of-shift urine samples were collected from 122 printers and 30 office clerks (all men) in the second half of a working week. Solvent (toluene) exposure of the day (8 h) was monitored by means of diffusive sampling. Quantitative relation with toluene showed that BMA had a greater correlation coefficient with toluene ( r=0.7) than hippuric acid ( r=0.6) or o-cresol ( r=0.6). The levels in the urine of the non-exposed control subjects were below the detection limit of 0.2 μg/l for BMA, whereas it was at substantial levels for hippuric acid and o-cresol (239 mg/l and 32 μg/l as a geometric mean, respectively). Thus, BMA, hippuric acid and o-cresol could separate the exposed from the non-exposed when toluene was at <1, 50 and 3 ppm, respectively. Overall, therefore, it appeared reasonable to conclude that BMA is superior to hippuric acid and o-cresol as a marker of occupational exposure to toluene.
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