Occupational Exposure Levels of Bisphenol A among Chinese Workers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess ambient Bisphenol A (BPA) levels in workplaces and urine BPA levels of workers. Methods: Workers in epoxy resin and BPA manufacturing factories were recruited. Personal samples for airborne BPA were taken in the workshops and spot urine samples were collected from workers before and after their shifts. The samples were assayed with highperformance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. TWA 8 of airborne PBA in the workplaces and biological BPA burden of the workers were calculated. Correlations between the external and the internal exposure levels were sought. Results: Workers from the factories were occupationally exposed to BPA at median personal airborne levels of 6.67 µg/m 3 (or at the mean of 450 µg/m 3 ). More than 90% of the workers who were occupationally exposed to BPA had detectable BPA levels in their blood samples. The medians of creatinine-adjusted urinary BPA levels were 84.6 µg/g Cr and 111 µg/g Cr pre-and post-shift (means of 4,630 µg/g Cr and 5,400 µg/g Cr), respectively. The urinary BPA concentration post-shift was significantly associated with the urinary BPA level pre-shift and personal airborne BPA levels. Conclusions: It was indicated that workers in epoxy resin and BPA manufacturing factories are occupationally exposed to BPA at high levels. There is an urgent need to create occupational standards and take effective preventive Field Studymeasures to protect workers from the potential adverse effects of BPA. (J Occup Health 2009; 51: 432-436)

Bisphenol A impairs the double-strand break repair machinery in the germline and causes chromosome abnormalities

“…We therefore measured the internal concentration of free BPA by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis (Axys Analytical Services). We found that an external dose of 1 mM BPA corresponds to an uptake level of 2 μg/g (2 ppm) of worm extract, a value within the range of internal concentrations of BPA detected in several rodent exposure models (21)(22)(23) and of serum levels in occupational exposure cases (24). It is also an order of magnitude higher than the levels of BPA found in human placental tissues (23,25).…”

“…However, it is likely that both our results and those of Susiarjo and colleagues (9) represent the reproductive outcome following elevated BPA exposure. Therefore, our studies bear relevance to occupational exposure studies in humans (24,45), and particularly to fetal and neonate exposure levels, as suggested by the up to 10 times higher levels of BPA detected in premature infants in neonatal intensive care units (46).…”

In utero exposure to bisphenol-A and anogenital distance of male offspring

“…The results based on these urine BPA samples have been previously reported (He et al, 2009a(He et al, , 2009b. Although the current urine BPA level was not used as a measure of exposure level for the index pregnancy, it was used as an additional measure to verify the validity of classification of BPA exposure (see later).…”

Adverse Effects of Bisphenol A on Male Reproductive Function

“…Although most intake occurs from ingestion, people who are engaged in the manufacturing or use of BPA (or related chemicals) can easily absorb it through the skin, or take it up via inhalation (He et al 2009b ;Kaddar et al 2009 ;Geens et al 2012 ).…”