Benzene Exposure Biomonitoring
BMPF medlemsmøte
Jorunn Kristine Bjørnevoll
20.9.2011
MBTL0065 Ed.002
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Benzene Exposure Biomonitoring
Overview
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Benzene
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Occupational exposure to benzene
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Benzene monitoring
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Benzene exposure biomonitoring Service
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Benzene
Where is it found?
Benzene occurs naturally:
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Crude oil
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Natural gas
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Combustion by-product
Once processed it is found in:
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Fuel e.g. Bunker oil
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Chemical applications
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Pre-cursor
Solvent
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Benzene
What’s the problem with it?
“Occupational exposure to benzene may lead to marrow damage, which may
take the form of aplastic anaemia, or acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)”
Goldman, L., Ausiello, D. (eds.), Cecil textbook of medicine, 23rd Ed. (Philadelphia, 2008).
Human exposure to benzene is a global health problem
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Occupational Exposure to Benzene
Who’s at risk?
Industries where benzene exposure is a potential hazard include:
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Oil, gas and chemicals – production and transportation
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Coke and coal production
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Petroleum storage and distribution
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Steel production
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Environmental clean-up and remediation
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Emergency services
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Benzene monitoring
Benzene can be tested through
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Airborne monitoring (gas detectors or charcoal badges)
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Biomonitoring (phenol or S-PMA testing)
Limitations of airbourne testing
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Only measures benzene in air, not exposure level in body
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Susceptive to damage (spills etc.)
Limitations of phenol testing
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Not benzene specific, not conclusive
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Cannot measure low exposures
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Benzene Exposure
Biomonitoring Service
The Urinary S-Phenyl Mercapturic Acid (S-PMA) Test
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Specific to benzene (Boogaard, PJ., van Sittert, N.J. (1996))
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Simple test
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Measures total exposure
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S-PMA testing takes account of exposure levels in the body
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Half life of 8-12 hours
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Sensitive enough to meet the lower occupational exposure limits of 1 ppm
and lower (Boogaard, PJ., van Sittert, N.J. (1996))
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Benzene Exposure
Biomonitoring Service
Measurement of urinary S-PMA
Method:
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Antibody approach based on an antiserum specific for S-PMA
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Identifies recent exposure
Aim:
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Screening tool for occupational monitoring
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Risk assessment tool
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Identify issues before more complicated problems arise
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Post-incident testing
CGP7387 Ed:001
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Benzene Exposure
Biomonitoring Service
Sample collection kit
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Convenient
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Simple to use
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Random or post incident samples
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Rapid results
Monitoring long term exposure
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Test at regular intervals including a baseline sample
Short term exposure
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Test should be deployed immediately after shift or incident
Urine accepted by OCIMF/SIRE (http://www.ocimf.com/SIRE/Sire-Documents (3.9))
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Summary of main points
• Benzene is a known carcinogen
• It can be tested through airborne monitoring (gas detectors or charcoal
badges)
• It can be tested through biomonitoring (phenol or S-PMA testing)
• S-PMA testing takes account of exposure levels in the body, unlike airborne
testing methods which measure environmental contamination (Boogaard, PJ.,
van Sittert, N.J. (1996))
• Unlike the phenol metabolite, the S-PMA metabolite is specific to benzene
(Boogaard, PJ., van Sittert, N.J. (1996))
• Only S-PMA testing is sensitive enough to meet the lower occupational
exposure limits (Boogaard, PJ., van Sittert, N.J. (1996))
• The S-PMA test is an effective way to measure exposure after incidents and to
monitor benzene levels where a risk of exposure is present (Pople, J.E., Ball, R.L.,
Padgett, M.J., Aston, J.P. (2002))
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Questions?
Jorunn Kristine Bjørnevoll
Maritime Sales Manager
Concateno
Mobile: +47 48200660
Jorunn.bjoernevoll@concateno.com
www.concateno.com
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