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  • Environmental and urinary reference values as markers of exposure to hydrocarbons in urban areas.

Environmental and urinary reference values as markers of exposure to hydrocarbons in urban areas.

The Science of the total environment (1996-12-02)
C Minoia, G Meroni, C Aprea, M C Oppezzo, S Magnaghi, G Sciarra, A Barisano, M L Fiorentino, A Berri, M Bellinzona, F S Robustelli della Cuna, F Frigerio, A Schiavi, L Di Gregorio
ABSTRACT

A study using individual dosimetry to evaluate the daily inhaled dose of sixteen aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons in three groups of primary school children, living in three Italian towns with 50,000 inhabitants or less, (Treviglio-Lombardy; Poggibonsi-Tuscany; Valenza-Piedmont) is presented. The simultaneous use of two passive samplers (radial diffusion) for each child, for a 24 h period, determined both the indoor and indoor + outdoor environmental reference concentrations. We measured the urinary levels of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes for each child and hence determined the urinary reference values for BTEX. We also considered the possibility of using benzene in urine as a biomarker of environmental exposure of the general population to this xenobiotic. We evaluated how both the environmental and biological measures were influenced by the presence of smokers in the surveyed children's houses. For the group of children living in Poggibonsi, we considered the influence of the living area and the traffic density on environmental concentrations of benzene (indoor and indoor + outdoor).

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

Supelco
radiello BTEX Calibration Kit (Thermal Desorption)
radiello Diffusive Bodies, white, configured for general use, pk of 20
radiello BTEX/VOC Starter Kit, CS2 Desorption
radiello BTEX/VOC Starter Kit, Thermal Desorption
Supelco
radiello BTEX Calibration Kit (CS2 Desorption)
radiello Diffusive Bodies, yellow, configured for reduced sampling rates, pk of 20
radiello Cartridge Adsorbents, for sampling BTEX and VOCs (thermal desorption), matrix SS net (3 x 8 μm, 4.8 mm diam.), Carbograph, pk of 20
radiello Cartridge Adsorbents, for sampling BTEX and VOCs (CS2 Desorption), matrix SS net (100 mesh, 5.8 mm diam.), activated with activated charcoal (30-50 mesh), pk of 20