Urinary hippuric acid level as a biological indicator of toluene exposure on batik workers

Abstract

Urinary hippuric acid (uHA) is one of the biomonitoring parameters of toxic organic exposure, such as toluene. Repeated exposure to a low concentration of toluene may lead to chronic effects such as central nervous system damage. In the preliminary study, toluene was found in the batik industry's working area in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This study aims to assess the health condition of batik workers to toluene exposure based on the concentration of uHA. There were 52 respondents divided into 2 groups: the batik workers as the exposed group (30 respondents) and the non-batik workers as the control group (22 respondents). The urine sample was taken from batik workers at the end of the shift, and uHA was measured using spectrophotometry. The uHA value was corrected with urinary creatinine. The results showed that the average uHA concentration of batik workers was higher than that of the control group. The result also showed that workers with more than 2 years working period, writing workers, and stamping workers give an Odds Ratio (OR) of 6.43, 6.75, and 9.00 respectively on having a higher concentration of uHA. Workers with toluene exposure symptoms were also having a higher concentration of uHA than workers without any symptoms.