TOLUENE DISTRIBUTION OF GLUE SNIFFERS BIOLOGICAL FLUID SAMPLES IN KOREA

We have studied the distribution of toluene in glue sniffers' biologic al fluid samples by gas chromatography or gas chromatography/mass spec trometry. The determined toluene concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 40. 3 mg/L in urine samples and from 0.1 to 74.7 mg/L in blood samples, re spectively. Among the 120 urine samples, 61% of all cases ranged betwe en 0.1 and 1.0 mg/L and 27% was between 1.0 and 5.0 mg/L, respectively . On the other hand, 39% and 46% of all 99 blood samples ranged betwee n 0.1 and 1.0 mg/L, or 1.0 and 5.0 mg/L, respectively. In the fatal ca ses (36 cases), the distribution of toluene ranged from 0.3 to 40.5 mg /L in the blood samples.