Organic Solvent Use in Enterprises in Japan

Nagasawa, Yasuhiro; Ukai, Hirohiko; Okamoto, Susumu; Samoto, Hajime; Itoh, Kenji; Moriguchi, Jiro; Sakuragi, Sonoko; Ohashi, Fumiko; Takada, Shiro; Kawakami, Tetsuya; Ikeda, Masayuki

doi:10.2486/indhealth.ms1244

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…1, showing that a combination of 3-6 solvents are often observed in factory air (a thick broken line), in contrast to single solvent use in research laboratories (thin lines). The environment in research laboratories (with more than 99 % in Class 1) was generally better than the environment in factories (e.g., 87 % in Class 1 [22]). Nevertheless, the presence of 32 laboratories with Class 2 or Class 3 environments apparently deserves attention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…With regard to use pattern, typical use of solvents in research laboratories was as unmixed. This makes a sharp contrast to solvent use in factories (or industrial plants) where, e.g., ink for printing or paints for surface treatment contain more than one solvent as liquid components [18,21,22]. The patterns of distribution are illustrated for visual understanding in Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of organic solvents in large research institutions in Japan

Nagasawa

Samoto

Ukai

et al. 2013

Environ Health Prev Med

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Objectives Laboratories in research institutions use organic solvents in research and development. Nevertheless, the types of solvents in use have been seldom reported. This study was initiated to elucidate types of organic solvents used in large research institutions in Japan, with a focus on possible different use among research fields. Methods In 2010-2011, 4517 laboratories in seven large research institutions were visited. In accordance with legal stipulations, air in each laboratory was collected in polyvinyl fluoride bags and analyzed by direct injection into a gas-chromatograph for 47 types of organic solvents. In evaluation, the laboratories were grouped by 5 research fields, i.e., agriculture, biology, medicine, natural science, and technology and engineering. Results Types of organic solvents commonly used in research activities were not diverse. Those commonly used were chloroform and 1,2-dichloroethane out of 7 Group 1 organic solvents (with high toxicities); 6 organic solvents, i.e., acetone and methyl alcohol in general, ethyl acetate, hexane and toluene in technology and engineering laboratories; and xylenes in medical fields out of 40 Group 2 organic solvents (with relatively low toxicities). Judging from solvent vapor concentrations, work environments in more than 99 % of laboratories were considered adequate. Nevertheless, use of chloroform in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) resulted in inadequate environments in 30 laboratories (0.7 %). Conclusions Organic solvents commonly used were not very diverse. Work environments in research laboratories were generally good, but the environment with use of chloroform in HPLC analysis remained yet to be improved.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of organic solvents in large research institutions in Japan

Nagasawa

Samoto

Ukai

et al. 2013

Environ Health Prev Med

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“…Attention was paid to this observation because toluene is the most commonly used solvent 14) as found in the present survey (Table 1). For comparison with the present results for toluene-exposed women (Table 2), 3 groups of toluene-exposed male workers were cited from a previous publication 15) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Comparison of the exposure‐excretion relationship between men and women exposed to organic solvents

Kawai¹,

Takeuchi²,

Ikeda

2015

Journal of Occupational Health

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Sex-related difference, Toluene, Un-metabolized solvents in urine, UrinalysisBiological monitoring of occupational exposure to organic solvents (solvents in short) in terms of urinalysis for un-metabolized solvents per se has been gaining attention 1) . For several solvents, biological occupational exposure limits (BOELs) are set not based on the direct exposure-effect relationship, but instead are derived indirectly as the level of a biological exposure indicator that corresponds to the effect-based occupational exposure limit 2) . Usually only one value is set to be applied to both men and women, despite the empirical understanding that body compositions are different between men and women. The setting of a single value is probably due to the fact that historically work in hazardous environments (including workplaces using solvents) has been limited to men. Opportunities are therefore limited to compare the exposure-excretion relationship between the two sexes.This study group had a unique opportunity to study cases in which men and women were working together under conditions of exposure to solvent mixtures. The findings are reported in this communication. Materials and MethodsThe survey was conducted in 1998−9 in a furniture-producing industrial park in southern Japan. Enterprises were mostly of micro-scale with less than 10 workers. Solvents were employed as mixtures in paints, thinner or adhesives, and both men and women were engaged in a series of furniture production processes.Workers serving in the same plant were examined on the same day. In total, 238 men and 60 women in 69 enterprises participated in the survey. The present survey on solvent exposures revealed that 25 men and 7 women were exposed to isopropyl alcohol together with acetone. As isopropyl alcohol is converted to acetone in vivo 3) , these workers were excluded from the analyses. Three subjects who were under treatment for diabetes were also excluded, as diabetes Abstract: Comparison of the exposure-excretion relationship between men and women exposed to organic solvents: Toshio KAWAI, et al. Osaka Occupational Health Service Center-Objectives: The present study was initiated to examine if application of the same biological occupational exposure limits (BOELs) for organic solvents is applicable across the sexes. Methods: A survey was conducted in 69 microscale enterprises in a furniture-producing industrial park. In practice, 211 men and 52 women participated in the survey. They worked in a series of production process, and were exposed to solvent vapor mixtures. The exposure intensities were monitored with two types of diffusive samplers, one with carbon cloth (for solvents in general) and the other with water (for methyl alcohol) as adsorbents. Solvents in the adsorbents and headspace air from urine samples were analyzed with capillary FID-GC. The measured values were subjected to linear regression analysis followed by statistical evaluation for possible sex-related differences in slopes. Results: Essentially no significant difference ...

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“…Consideration for so-called green analytical chemistry [11][12][13][14] is especially important in research and teaching institutions where future scientists are in growth. It should be noted that the use of chloroform has been quite limited and seldom observed in industries for years [17][18][19] . Chloroform was used also in bio-technology laboratories.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic Solvent Use in Research Institutions in Japan

et al. 2011

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In 2008-2009, types of organic solvents used and air-borne vapor concentrationswere surveyed in 1909 laboratories in four large research institutions in accordance with current regulations. The results were classified into 5 groups in terms of research fields (agriculture, biology, medicine, natural science, and technology and engineering) and evaluated after the regulatory rules. Laboratory air analyses by gas chromatography identified 5 and 20 solvents out of 7 Group 1 solvents and 40 Group 2 solvents, respectively; 10 solvents were used in more than 10% of the laboratories in each of the 5 research fields. The use of unmixed single solvent appeared to be unique in research laboratories in contrast to use of solvent mixtures in industrial facilities for production. Laboratories of technology and engineering fields used more various organic solvents more frequently, whereas use of xylenes appeared to be more specific to laboratories of bio-medical fields. Among the commonly used solvents, chloroform was the leading solvent to induce poorer results in regulatory classification (i.e., Class 3 in Administrative Control Classes) typically when applied in high pressure liquid chromatography which was too voluminous to be accommodated in a local exhaustion chamber.

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Organic Solvent Use in Enterprises in Japan

Cited by 13 publications

References 23 publications

Use of organic solvents in large research institutions in Japan

Use of organic solvents in large research institutions in Japan

Comparison of the exposure‐excretion relationship between men and women exposed to organic solvents

Organic Solvent Use in Research Institutions in Japan

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