Objectives-To evaluate workers' exposure in a creosote impregnation plant by means of ambient and biological monitoring. Methods-Naphthalene (vapour phase) and 10 large molecular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (particulate phase) were measured in the breathing zone air during an entire working week. 1-Hydroxypyrene (1-HP) was measured in 24 hour urine as a metabolite of the pyrene found in neat (dermal exposure) and airborne creosote.Results-Naphthalene (0*4-4*2 mg/ml) showed 1000 times higher concentrations in air than did the particulate PAHs. In total, the geometric mean (range) of three to six ring PAHs was 4-8 (1.2-13.7) pglm3; pyrene 0-86 (0.23-2.1) ,uglm, and benzo(a)pyrene 0-012 (0.01-0.05) ,uglm'.There was no correlation between pyrene and gaseous naphthalene. The correlations between pyrene and the other nine particulate PAHs were strong, and gave a PAH profile that was similar in all air samples: r = 0-83 (three to six ring PAHs); r = 0-81 (three ring PAHs); r = 0-78 (four to six ring PAHs). Dermal exposure was probably very high in all workers, because the daily output of urinary 1-HP exceeded the daily uptake of inhaled pyrene by 450-fold. Urinary 1-HP concentrations were very high, even on Monday mornings, when they were at their lowest (4-22 umollmol creatinine).1-HP seldom showed any net increase over a workshift (except on Monday) due to its high concentrations (16 to 120 ,umollmol creatinine) in the morning samples. 1-HP was always lower at the end of the shift (19 to 85 ,umol/mol creatinine) than in the evening (27 to 122), and the mean (SD) change over the working week (47 (18)) was greater than the change over Monday (35 (32)). The timing of 1-HP sampling is therefore very important. Conclusions-Urinary 1-HP proved to be a good biomarker of exposure to three to six ring PAHs but not to airborne naphthalene. Hence, biomonitoring based on 1-HP has to be completed with exposure assessment for naphthalene as a marker for creosote volatiles that mainly enter the body through the lungs.

We studied differences in the amounts of organic and inorganic mercury in saliva samples between amalgam and nonamalgam human study groups. The amount of organic and inorganic mercury in whole saliva was measured in 187 adult study subjects. The mercury contents were determined by cold–vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The amount of organic and inorganic mercury in paraffin–stimulated saliva was significantly higher (p<0.001) in subjects with dental amalgam fillings (n = 88) compared to the nonamalgam study groups (n = 43 and n = 56): log_e (organic mercury) was linearly related to log_e (inorganic mercury, r² = 0.52). Spearman correlation coefficients of inorganic and organic mercury concentrations with the number of amalgam–filled tooth surfaces were 0.46 and 0.27, respectively. Our results are compatible with the hypothesis that amalgam fillings may be a continuous source of organic mercury, which is more toxic than inorganic mercury, and almost completely absorbed by the human intestine.

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Wickstrom, MD4RIALA R, KALLIOKOSKI P, PYY L, WICKSTR~M G. Solvent exposure in construction and maintenance painting. Scand J Work Environ Health 10 (1984) 263-266. Exposure to solvents in interior house painting was determined by industrial hygiene surveys and questionnaires on work history. Painting work was observed in 92 work situations at 18 sites, mainly during maintenance work. The effects of the size of the work area, the volume of air, the type of paint, the amount used, the method of application, and the use of ventilation on the solvent concentrations were also studied. In small, poorly ventilated rooms the concentration of solvent naphtha averaged 275 ppm when alkyd paints were used. Wall and ceiling painting with alkyd paints yielded an average solvent naphtha concentration of 210 ppm, and window and door painting 80 ppm. The presence of a strong draft reduced the solvent concentrations by twothirds. The painters' average lifetime dose of solvent naphtha was 12.2 kg, the average annual dose 0.54 kg. These levels decreased over the study period. The mean 8-h concentration of solvent naphtha in the breathing zone averaged 40 ppm over the painters' total worklife.