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Unexpected cause of raised benzene absorption in coke oven by-product workers
Richard Colman1, Andrew Coleman
1Cowl House, Bransdale, Fadmoor, YO62 7JW, UK. richardcol@doctors.org.uk
Background:
Urinary biological monitoring for benzene (by measuring benzene metabolites) in coke oven by-product workers produced the unexpected result that 2 out of 10 employees had significantly raised urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA). However, simultaneous personal air sampling showed no excessive airborne exposure.
Methods:
Possible causes for this finding were investigated having excluded inhalation as the route of uptake. It was suspected that skin absorption via contaminated overalls was the possible mechanism and a standard frequency for overall change was introduced.
Results:
Changing overalls after every four shifts reduced uptake levels to less than the equivalent of 1 ppm inhaled dose for all employees.
Conclusion:
Skin absorption of benzene in coke oven by-product workers from contaminated overalls can be significant and therefore overalls should be changed on a regular and frequent basis.
