Solvent Biomonitoring

Solvents & VOCs · Solvents & VOCs overview

Solvent biomonitoring quantifies urinary metabolites of aromatic, chlorinated and oxygenated solvents to verify that LEV, RPE and dermal hygiene are limiting absorbed dose across UK industrial workforces.

Aromatic solvents

Toluene (o-cresol, hippuric acid), xylenes (methylhippuric acid isomers), styrene (mandelic + phenylglyoxylic acid) and ethylbenzene (mandelic acid) are the four most commonly monitored aromatic solvents. All have validated urinary biomarkers and either HSE BMGVs or ACGIH BEIs.

Chlorinated solvents

Trichloroethylene (trichloroacetic acid), perchloroethylene (urinary perchloroethylene or trichloroacetic acid) and methylene chloride (urinary methylene chloride, blood COHb) require biomonitoring because they absorb well dermally and have liver-metabolic complexity that air monitoring cannot capture.

Oxygenated solvents

Butan-2-one (urinary butan-2-one — HSE BMGV 70 µmol/l), cyclohexanone (urinary 1,2- and 1,4-cyclohexanediol — HSE BMGV 8 mmol/mol creatinine) and 2-butoxyethanol (urinary butoxyacetic acid) are routinely monitored in cleaning, degreasing and surface preparation operations.