Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (한국산업보건학회지)

Korean Industrial Hygiene Association (한국산업보건학회)
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Environmental and biological monitoring of workers exposed to methyl bromide through quarantine fumigation

방역작업자의 브롬화메틸(methyl bromide) 노출수준과 생물학적 모니터링

  • Lee, Jong-Seong (Occupational Safty and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safty and Health Agency) ;
  • Lee, Yong-Hag (Occupational Safty and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safty and Health Agency) ;
  • Shin, Jae-Hoon (Occupational Safty and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safty and Health Agency) ;
  • Choi, Jung-Keun (Occupational Safty and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safty and Health Agency) ;
  • O, Cha-Jae (Department of Preventive and Occupational Medicine, College of Medicine, Pusan National University) ;
  • Jung, Ho-Keun (Occupational Safty and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safty and Health Agency)
  • 이종성 (한국산업안전공단 산업안전보건연구원) ;
  • 이용학 (한국산업안전공단 산업안전보건연구원) ;
  • 신재훈 (한국산업안전공단 산업안전보건연구원) ;
  • 최정근 (한국산업안전공단 산업안전보건연구원) ;
  • 오차재 (부산대학교 의과대학 예방의학교실) ;
  • 정호근 (한국산업안전공단 산업안전보건연구원)
  • Received : 2001.11.24
  • Accepted : 2001.12.14
  • Published : 2001.12.30
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Abstract

This study was performed to estimate environmental and biological monitoring of workers exposed to methyl bromide through quarantine fumigation. Airborne methyl bromide and it's metabolites were analyzed by gas chromatography and ion chromatography, respectively. The results are as followings; airborne concentration of methyl bromide(TWA) was $2.08{\pm}1.56ppm$(N=8). Dispersion and setting/degas groups were $0.67{\pm}0.12ppm$(N=2) and $2.54{\pm}1.53ppm$(N=6), respectively. Bromide ion concentration in serum was $23.40{\pm}14.91mg/{\ell}$(N=10) in the exposed workers and $4.74{\pm}0.82mg/{\ell}$(N=21) in the non-exposed workers. Bromide ion concentration in urine was $35.56{\pm}26.89mg/{\ell}$(N=11) in exposed group and $6.62{\pm}2.31mg/{\ell}$(N=21) in non-exposed group. Good correlation was observed between concentration of serum and urine ($r^2$=0.890 p<0.01). No significant correlations of other determinants were observed. Calculated from a regressive curve, the biological half lifes of serum and urine were 10.7 and 5.9 days. In these results, biological monitoring of bromide ion of serum and urine provided useful information for evaluating exposure of workers to methyl bromide, so that an availability of bromide ion of biological samples was showed as biological monitoring indices for methyl bromide.

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