THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RESPIRATORS MEASURED DURING STYRENE EXPOSURE IN A PLASTIC BOAT FACTORY

In a plastic boat company we studied workers' attitudes toward wearing respiratory protective equipment and differences in styrene exposure received with and without respirators. The workers studied used either half-facepiece air-purifying or full-face air-supplied respirators as much as possible during the first day of the study. On the second day respirators were used only for short periods or-not at all. Individua l styrene exposures were measured by personal air sampling in the brea thing zone. When using respirators the exposure was measured both insi de and outside the respirators. The styrene metabolites mandelic and p henylglyoxylic acids were determined in urine samples collected during the workday. The eleven workers studied used the respirators 52% of t he time on the first day and 7% of the time on the second. The reasons for not wearing respirators were that they delayed work, were too tig ht and uncomfortable, made it difficult to breath, and/or became too w arm. The use of respirators during work operations such as spraying, l aminating, and painting reduced the styrene exposure by 56%-92%. The e xcretion rate of mandelic and phenylglyoxylic acids in urine collected at the end of the working day was 30%-99% lower when respirators were worn than when they were not.