Effect of Physical Exertion on the Biological Monitoring of Exposure of Various Solvents Following Exposure by Inhalation in Human Volunteers: I. Toluene

Abstract

Physical exertion (work load) has been recognized as one of several factors that can influence the kinetics of xenobiotics within the human body. This study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of physical exertion on two exposure indicators of toluene (TOL) in human volunteers exposed under controlled conditions in an inhalation chamber. A group of four volunteers (one woman, three men) were exposed to TOL (50 ppm) according to the following scenarios involving several periods during which volunteers were asked to perform either aerobic (AERO), muscular (MUSC), or both (AERO/MUSC) types of physical exercise (exercise bicycle, treadmills, pulleys). The target intensities (W) for each exercising period of 30 min—interspaced with 15 min at rest—were the following: REST, 50 W AERO (time-weighted average intensity [TWAI]: 46 watts); 50 W AERO/MUSC (TWAI: 38 watts) and 100 W AERO (TWAI: 71 watts) for 7 hours and 50 W MUSC for 3 hours (TWAI: 29 watts). Alveolar air and urine samples were collected at different time intervals before, during, and after exposure for the measurement of unchanged TOL in expired air (TOL-A) and urinary o-cresol (o-CR). Overall, the results showed that TOL-A measured during and after all scenarios involving physical activities were higher (approximately 1.4-2.0 fold) compared with exposures at rest. All scenarios involving physical exertion also resulted in increased end-of-exposure urinary o-CR (mean ± SD): 0.9 ± 0.1 mg/L (REST) vs. 2.0 ± 0.1 mg/L (TWAI 46 watts). However, exposure at a TWAI of 71 watts did not further increase o-CR excretion (1.7 ± 0.2 mg/L). This study confirms the significant effect of work load on TOL kinetics and showed that o-CR excretion increased proportionally with work load expressed as TWAI or with the estimated mean pulmonary ventilation during the period of exposure. This study also shows that exposure to TOL (50 ppm) involving a work load of around 50 W (light intensity) or lower is likely to produce urinary o-CR values that clearly exceed the current biological exposure index value for TOL.

Keywords:

• alveolar air concentration
• biological monitoring
• human volunteers
• o-CR
• physical exertion
• toluene
• workload

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank Ginette Charest-Tardif, Mylène Beaudoin, Véronique Perrault, and Suzanne Paradis for their excellent technical assistance.

Financial support from the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) is gratefully acknowledged.

Notes

^A TOL-A: Toluene in alveolar air samples, o-CR: o-CR in urine samples obtained at the end of each 3-hour exposure period.

^B Two 3-hour exposure periods interspaced with a 1-hour break at rest and without exposure.

^A AERO: aerobic exercises; AERO/MUSC: combination of aerobic and muscular exercise; MUSC: muscular exercise; TWAI: time-weighted average intensity.