APPLICATIONS OF BIOLOGICAL MONITORING IN OCCUPATIONAL-HEALTH PRACTICE- PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF URINARY 2-ETHOXYACETIC ACID TO ASSESS EXPOSURE 2-ETHOXYETHYL ACETATE IN LARGE-FORMAT SILK-SCREENING OPERATIONS
Lk. Lowry et al., APPLICATIONS OF BIOLOGICAL MONITORING IN OCCUPATIONAL-HEALTH PRACTICE- PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF URINARY 2-ETHOXYACETIC ACID TO ASSESS EXPOSURE 2-ETHOXYETHYL ACETATE IN LARGE-FORMAT SILK-SCREENING OPERATIONS, International archives of occupational and environmental health, 65(1), 1993, pp. 190000047-190000051
A practical application of urinary 2-ethoxyacetic acid (EAA) to assess
occupational exposure to 2-ethoxyethyl acetate (EGEE-Ac) during a lar
ge format silk-screening operation is described. Industrial hygiene ai
r monitoring of employees of a silk-screen shop producing large aircra
ft interior panel coverings revealed a broad range of exposures to EGE
E-Ac. Time weighted exposures averaged 12 ppm (range 2.9-34 ppm) in pr
ess operators during production press runs, exceeding the 5 ppm Washin
gton State permissible exposure limit. Employees were instructed to us
e organic vapor respirators until engineering controls could be develo
ped. Urinary monitoring of EAA was conducted on 30 employees by the co
mpany medical department to aid in exposure risk assessment and to ass
ess compliance. Results obtained ranged from 1.1-27 mg EAA/g creatinin
e which compares favorably with the proposed Biological Exposure Index
(BEI) of 100 mg EAA/g creatinine. Results of representative air and b
iological monitoring, and observations of work practices for different
exposure groups indicated that inhalation exposure was the predominan
t route of exposure. Follow-up testing to assess the efficacy of a new
ly installed ventilation upgrade is planned.