Air and breath analysis for the assessment of exposure to solvent emissions in university chemistry laboratories

Abstract

In this study, ambient and biological monitoring, through the use of breath analysis, in different university laboratory environments have been performed and compared to assess whether breath analysis is an efficient alternative for exposure monitoring in non-acute conditions. 40 atmospheric samples from four laboratories were evaluated: three of the labs used solvents on a daily basis and the manipulation of solvents was forbidden in the other laboratory. 76 breath samples were analyzed from non-exposed people (n=21) and researchers doing their regular daily routine in each of the tested laboratories (n=55). It was found that ambient levels in the most contaminated laboratory reached values below the recommended occupational exposure limits for acute exposition. However, the levels found for some of the solvents tested were above the proposed inhalation minimum risk levels (MRL) and reference concentrations (RfC) associated with chronic health effects. The results obtained for exhaled breath tend to agree with the air levels detected in the most contaminated environments, but it was found that exhaled breath levels for people working in environments with low contamination levels were not always correlated with air levels. These results indicate that biological monitoring using breath analysis mirror more accurately the dose inhaled in non-acute conditions and may help to assess provable chronic health effects