• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.458-462
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• 1993

Blood toluene concentrations of thirty nine Korean toluene-exposed workers in shoes making factory were checked by headspace-gas chromatographic analysis. Air toluene concentrations in each worker's working region also checked by personal sampler during workshift and analyzed by gas chromatography. The range of blood toluene concentration was 0.15-0.84mg/L. The range of toluene concentration of each worker's working area was 8.46-189.9ppm. The correlation between blood and air concentration of toluene was 0.824.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.188-193
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• 1993

Toluene in air and blood and hippuric acid in urine were checked for the 41 female workers who are exposed to toluene and have normal liver function in shoe making factories in July, 1993. Toluene in air was sampled with charcoal by personal air sampler at least 4 times and analyzed by gas chromatography. At the end of shift, blood and spot urine were collected with a vacuum tube containing EDTA and a polyethylene bottle for detecting blood toluene and urine hippuric acid and analyzed by gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography. Means of air and blood toluene and urine hippuric acid concentrations were 34.35ppm, 0.360mg/L, and 1.78g/g creatinine, respectively. Toluene in air showed a good correlation with hippuric acid in urine(r=0.4503) and toluene in blood(r=0.4596). The hippuric acid in urine and toluene in blood corresponded 10 exposure of 100ppm toluene in air were 2.628g/g creatinine and 0.481mg/L. Blood toluene and urine hippuric acid expected ratio were not correlated to the obesity index and working duration, however increased with age.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.91-96
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• 1995

The effects of toluene inhalation on the contents of amino acid neurotransmitters in rat brain were investigated and blood toluene concentrations inducing changes of behavior and amino acid neurotransmitter contents in rat brain were observed. Male wistar rats were exposed to toluene vapor (single dose : 1700, 5000 and 10000 ppm for 2 hrs, repeated dose : 1700 and 5000 ppm for 2 hrs/day$\times$6 days). Toluene concentrations in blood and the inhalation chamber were assayed by GC with headspace sampler. HPLC method following PITC derivatization was used to measure the amino acid contents in brain tissues such as frontal cortex, caudate, hippocampus, cerebellum and brain stem. Glutamic acid and aspartic acid levels were increased by single inhalation of toluene (5000 ppm) in all the brain areas assayed in this experiment. In caudate and cerebellum, taurine levels were decreased by single inhalation of low dose toluene (1700 ppm), but increased by repeated administration. At high blood toluene concentration, GABA levels were increased in all the brain areas assayed in this experiment and the increasing extents of inhibitory amino acid contents measured in caudate and hippocampus were greater than those of excitatory amino acids. These results suggest that the changes of amino acid neurotransmitter contents in brain by exposure to toluene may modulate toluene-induced behaviors.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.545-549
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• 1996

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to the toluene at 3,000${\pm}$200ppm via inhalation for two hours in the single inhalation group and three weeks by two hours per day, six da ys per week in the repeated inhalation group. The blood toluene concentration in the repeated inhalation group was significantly lower than that in the single inhalation group after 210 and 240 minutes of exposure. The peak concentration of blood toluene was 58.13${\pm}$4.63${\mu}$g/ml in the single inhalation group and 54.24${\pm}$6.87mcg/ml in the repeated at the end of 120 minutes of the exposure. The behavioral change of rats for the initial 30 minutes of the toluene inhalation showed mildly increased movement and excitement but remained calm and inhibitory behaviors after that period; more inhibitory behaviors in the single inhalation group compared with the repeated inhalation group. In open-field test, after the termination of the toluene inhalation, no difference had been statistically observed between the toluene inhalation group and the control group in ambulation, rearing, preening and grooming.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.289-294
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• 1995

This study was designed to observe the effect of tohiene pretreatment on leukocyte variation in whole blood and the oxygen free radical generating, scavenging enzyme activities in neutrophil of bacteria infected rats. Toluene was administered 7 times intraperitoneally at levels of 9.45 mM/kg body weight to the rats and then infected with S. aureus $2\times10^7$ cfu/ml. The toluene treated-rats showed the significantly decreased numbers of lymphocyte and monocytes, but the similiar numbers of neutrophils with the control. Furthermore the increased neutrophils in blood of bacteria infected rats were reduced by the toluene pretreatment. Concomitantly the increased activities of xanthine oxidase and superoxide dismutase in neutrophil of bacteria infected rats were also decreased by the toluene pretreatment. On the other hand, injection of benzaldehyde to rats also led to similiar results in the count of leukocytes, xanthine oxidase and superoxide dismutase activities of neutrophil with those of toluene treated rats. These data suggest that toluene and its intermediate metabolite, benzaldehyde influence on the phagocytosis and defence mechanism of neutrophil.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.192-199
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• 1991

Biological exposure indices (BEI) of toluene, perchloroethylene (PCE) and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) for Korean workers were studied respectively. Environmental exposures in workplace to organic solvent were measured by personal sampling. Blood toluene, blood perchloroethylene, urinary trichloroacetic acid and urinary MEK were determined by headspace gas chromatography. Urinary hippuric acid were determined by HPLC and corrected by creatinine. BEIs for Korean workers were calculated as the levels of determinants which are correspond to permissible exposure limits in Korea. Blood toluene level of 2.2mg/l and urinary hippuric acid level of 1.7g/g creatinine are correspond to an exposure of 100 ppm toluene. Blood PCE concentration of 1.6mg/l and urinary trichloroacetic acid concentration of 2.9mg/l are correspond to an exposure of 50ppm PCE. Urinary MEK concentration of 1.0mg/l is correspond to an exposure of 200ppm of MEK. BEIs for Korean workers determined in this study are very different to ACGIH's BEI as urinary determinants are much lower and blood determinants are much higher than ACGIH's BEI.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.24-29
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• 2015

Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify determine factors for blood VOCs levels in college students. Methods: Venous blood samples were collected from healthy 29 male and 25 female volunteers. The samples were analyzed with solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Results: Blood concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-,p-xylene, o-xylene were higher in smoking group than in non-smoking group. Geometric means of smoking group and non-smoking group were 0.45 and $0.36{\mu}g/L$ in benzene, 0.82 and $0.47{\mu}g/L$ in toluene, 0.44 and $0.41{\mu}g/L$ in ethylbenzene, 0.49 and $0.39{\mu}g/L$ in m-,p-xylene and 0.47 and $0.43{\mu}g/L$ in o-xylene, respectively. Gender, alcohol drinking, coffee, commuting time (30 minutes) by a car and adjacency between home and road were not associated with increasing blood VOCs concentrations of college students. Conclusion: Smoking habit was significantly associated with blood concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-,m-,p-xylene in college students.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.443-453
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• 2004

Toluene is currently used as a major organic solvent of glues which are abused by the youngster for its hallucinogenic effect. In this study, toluene determination method using headspace gas chromatography (HS-GC) in the biological fluids like blood, urine and saliva of glue sniffers was validated and related uncertainties were estimated. LOD of $0.01{\mu}g/mL$ in saliva and LOQ of $0.1{\mu}g/mL$ in blood were the highest among LODs and LOQs in urine, blood and saliva. Other performance characteristics such as linearity, working range, accuracy, precision and recovery were also measured. The uncertainty at toluene concentration of $1{\mu}g/mL$ was estimated to be 0.13, 0.09 and $0.17{\mu}g/mL$ for blood, urine and saliva, respectively, and the uncertainty contribution from the least linear regression was dominant at the lower concentration of toluene.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2015

The objectives of this study were to investigate the individual characteristics, lifestyle habits, exposure levels, and genetic diversity of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes involved in toluene metabolism in Korean and foreign workers exposed to toluene at a manufacturing plant. This study was conducted to determine the effects of culture or ethnicity on toluene metabolism. The results showed that blood and urinary toluene concentrations were dependent on the level of exposure to toluene. We analyzed the correlation between toluene metabolism and genetic diversity in glutathione S-transferase (GST) (M1), GSTT1, and cytochrome p-450 (CYP) $2E1^*5$ as well as lifestyle habits (smoking, drinking, and exercise habits). The results revealed significant correlations between toluene metabolism and GSTM1 and GSTT1 genetic diversity, as well as smoking and exercise.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.7-9
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• 2001

The quantitative assessment of the penetration of organic solvents through skin is necessary for the evaluation of health hazards in occupational environments. We investigated the rate of dermal penetration when mixed or single forms of organic solvents were placed into a diffusion cell in vitro or into an experimental animal in vivo. The diffusion rates of methanol. toluene, and styrene were 6.07, 0.129, and 0.046 mg/$cm^2$/h, respectively. When skin was exposed to the mixed solvent of methanol and toluene, the penetration rate of toluene did not change significantly (0.110 mg/$cm^2$/h). However, the rate of methanol penetration increased to 43.90 mg/$\textrm{cm}^2$/h. The penetration rate of methanol also increased significantly to 54.69 mg/$cm^2$/h by mixing it with styrene. The concentration of methanol in the blood was monitored during the epicutaneous exposure in rats. The blood concentration of methanol was increased by mixing methanol with toluene as seen in the in vitro experiments. These results showed that the penetration rate of organic solvents would be enhanced by mixing them with other solvents.