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Biomedical subjects

L Pyy

Publications and source records attributed to L Pyy.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Ambient and biological monitoring of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at a coking plant.

The exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was measured in a Finnish coking plant over a 7-year period (1988-1994), since the beginning of production. Hygienic measurements including dust and vapour sampling were performed and the correlations between the concentrations of airborne pyrene with the levels of pyrene metabolite 1-pyrenol in urine were calculated. The profile of measured 12 or 15 PAHs was very similar between mean concentrations of personal samples, which suggests that it is possible to calculate the concentrations of total PAH by using e.g. pyrene as a marker compound. Measurements suggest that the progress of working conditions has been very favourable because the mean exposure level of shift workers to benzo[a]pyrene has decreased from 2.5 micrograms/m3 to 0.3 micrograms/m3. This points to successful measures of technical prevention. The mean concentration of 1-pyrenol in urine has been 0.2-0.6 mumol/mol creatinine. The concentration increases slightly towards the end of the working day, but the correlation urinary pyrenol and air pyrene was weak. Therefore the usefulness of pyrenol level for predicting the pyrene concentration at low exposure level in the ambient air is very limited.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1995

Association of blood cadmium to the area of residence and hypertensive disease in Arctic Finland.

The association of cadmium exposure with area of residence, blood pressure, and arterial hypertensive disease was examined in 230 reindeer herders in northernmost arctic Finland. Blood cadmium concentration averaged 10.0 nmol/l, and was three times higher in smokers than in nonsmokers (16.7 vs. 5.5 nmol/l). Concentrations increased from the southwestern to the northeastern area west of the Kola Peninsula, Russia, both in nonsmokers (3.1 vs. 6.8 nmol/l) and smokers (10.8 vs. 32.0 nmol/l). High cadmium levels were most common in the northeast: 32% of the values were at least 15 nmol/l, 10% at least 45 nmol/l (health-based limit of WHO), and 3% at least 90 nmol/l (the critical limit for renal damage). High cadmium concentration was associated with a rise in blood pressure; the rise was particularly pronounced in subjects with hypertensive diseases. These associations were not affected by age, body mass index, smoking, and alcohol consumption. The results suggest that cadmium exposure may have harmful health effects in arctic Finland and emphasize the importance of reducing pollution from industrial sources in the Kola Peninsula.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Urinary 1-naphthol and 1-pyrenol as indicators of exposure to coal tar products.

Chemical exposure of assemblers handling creosote-impregnated wood and of a single worker chiselling coal tar pitch layer was assessed by measuring airborne naphthalene and various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and by measurement of urinary excretion of 1-naphthol and 1-pyrenol. The sum concentration of PAHs and of 4-6 aromatic ring-containing PAHs were high, 440 micrograms/m3 and 290 micrograms/m3, respectively, when chiselling. In the assembler's workplace, the PAH concentrations were about 1/50 of this value. Regarding airborne naphthalene concentrations the situation was reversed (assemblers, 1000 micrograms/m3; chiseller, 160 micrograms/m3). Correspondingly, the assemblers' urinary 1-napthol concentrations were 15-20 times higher than those of the chiseller. The urinary 1-pyrenol concentration of the chiseller was 2-4 times higher than among the assemblers. As the estimated pyrene inhalation doses among the assemblers could account for only about 2%-25% of the 24-h pyrenol excretion in urine, the skin was presumably the main route of uptake. For an assessment of the exposure to PAHs, air measurements, monitoring of metabolites in urine and preferably also data on the composition of the skin-contaminating product are needed.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1995

Assessment of exposure to inorganic arsenic by determining the arsenic species excreted in urine.

Urinary concentrations of inorganic arsenic metabolites (AsIII, AsV, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)) and occupational exposure to arsenic were measured in 24 copper smelter and arsenic trioxide refinery workers during a study period consisting of 2 pairs of work days and the 6 (partly 4) days off between them. The correlations between the time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations of arsenic in air (0.8-45 micrograms/m3) and the concentrations of arsenic species in urine 0, 0-8, 8-16 and 16-20 h after the exposure were calculated. The best correlation (r = 0.78, P = 0.0001) was found for the sum of AsIII and AsV concentration in urine collected between 0 and 8 h after the exposure. The DMA concentrations at any time in urine correlated only poorly to the exposure. A reason for this was obviously an increased urinary excretion of DMA due to the ingestion of DMA in the diet. An 8-h TWA exposure of 10 micrograms As/m3 was calculated to lead to an inorganic arsenic concentration of 5 micrograms/l in urine.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1995

Antimicrobial and mercury resistance in aerobic gram-negative bacilli in fecal flora among persons with and without dental amalgam fillings.

Antimicrobial resistance is more widespread than can be accounted for as being a consequence of the selection pressure caused by the use of antibiotics alone. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a high mercury content in feces might select for mercury-resistant bacteria and thus for antimicrobial resistance linked to mercury resistance. Three subject groups with different exposures to dental amalgam fillings were compared. None of the subjects had taken antimicrobial agents during the three preceding months or longer. The group exposed to dental amalgam (n = 92) had 13 times more mercury in feces than the group that had never been exposed to amalgam (n = 43) and the group whose amalgam fillings had been removed (n = 56). No significant differences in either mercury resistance or antibiotic resistance in the fecal aerobic gram-negative flora of these subject groups were seen. The following antimicrobial resistance frequencies were detected with a replica plating method: > or = 1% resistance was seen in 40% of the subjects for ampicillin, 14% of the subjects for cefuroxime, 6% of the subjects for nalidixic acid, 14% of the subjects for trimethoprim, 19% of the subjects for sulfamethoxazole, and 25% of the subjects for tetracycline. The amount of mercury in feces derived from amalgam was not selective for any resistance factors in aerobic gram-negative bacteria, but antimicrobial resistance was widespread even among healthy subjects with no recent exposure to antibiotics.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Significance of dermal and respiratory uptake in creosote workers: exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and urinary excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate workers' exposure in a creosote impregnation plant by means of ambient and biological monitoring. METHODS: Naphthalene (vapour phase) and 10 large molecular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (particulate phase) were measured in the breathing zone air during an entire working week. 1-Hydroxypyrene (1-HP) was measured in 24 hour urine as a metabolite of the pyrene found in neat (dermal exposure) and airborne creosote. RESULTS: Naphthalene (0.4-4.2 mg/m3) showed 1000 times higher concentrations in air than did the particulate PAHs. In total, the geometric mean (range) of three to six ring PAHs was 4.8 (1.2-13.7) micrograms/m3; pyrene 0.86 (0.23-2.1) micrograms/m3, and benzo(a)pyrene 0.012 (0.01-0.05) micrograms/m3. There was no correlation between pyrene and gaseous naphthalene. The correlations between pyrene and the other nine particulate PAHs were strong, and gave a PAH profile that was similar in all air samples: r = 0.83 (three to six ring PAHs); r = 0.81 (three ring PAHs); r = 0.78 (four to six ring PAHs). Dermal exposure was probably very high in all workers, because the daily output of urinary 1-HP exceeded the daily uptake of inhaled pyrene by < or = 50-fold. Urinary 1-HP concentrations were very high, even on Monday mornings, when they were at their lowest (4-22 mumol/mol creatinine). 1-HP seldom showed any net increase over a workshift (except on Monday) due to its high concentrations (16 to 120 mumol/mol creatinine) in the morning samples. 1-HP was always lower at the end of the shift (19 to 85 mumol/mol creatinine) than in the evening (27 to 122), and the mean (SD) change over the working week (47 (18)) was greater than the change over Monday (35 (32)). The timing of 1-HP sampling is therefore very important. CONCLUSIONS: Urinary 1-HP proved to be a good biomarker of exposure to three to six ring PAHs but not to airborne naphthalene. Hence, biomonitoring based on 1-HP has to be completed with exposure assessment for naphthalene as a marker for creosote volatiles that mainly enter the body through the lungs.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1992

Blood mercury and serum selenium concentrations in reindeer herders in the arctic area of northern Finland.

163 healthy reindeer herders living in the arctic area of northern Finland were investigated for blood mercury and serum selenium concentrations. More than ten percent of the subjects had blood mercury above the upper normal limit. High organic and total organic mercury levels were most common in the northeastern part of the country. High organic and total mercury and selenium values were more common in the Lapps than the Finns. Blood mercury levels increased with increasing fish consumption. The pollution in the northeastern part of this country probably leads to the increased formation of organic mercury, and its enrichment in the food chain. The association of high selenium with high mercury probably reduces the toxicity of the latter.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

Genotoxic effects and chemical compositions of four creosotes.

Four creosotes used in Finland for impregnating wood were tested in the Ames Salmonella test, the SCE test and the SOS chromotest. Compounds volatile at 37 degrees C were assayed using the taped plate testing protocol. The creosotes were fractionated according to their natural boiling ranges and the fractions were tested in the Ames Salmonella assay. Chemical compositions of creosotes and fractions were determined by high resolution gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry techniques and by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. Mutagenic activities were shown to reside in fractions having the highest boiling point ranges (greater than 290 degrees C). The concentrations of mutagenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in creosotes and in some of their corresponding distillation fractions, when compared with mutagenic activities, indicated synergistic or antagonistic interactions.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Assessment of PAH-exposure among coke oven workers.

Coke oven workers are exposed to high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Only recently have methods been developed to try to assess the individual, biologically significant exposure. The only coke oven plant in Finland started to function in 1987, in Raahe, enabling the implementation of a cohort study among the workers to determine the usefulness of some currently available biomonitoring methods, e.g. methods of measuring PAH-DNA adducts. Urine and blood samples were taken several times from a sample of workers starting from before they worked at the plant. A questionnaire (smoking, diet, former and current occupations) was filled in by the workers at every sampling, and air samples (personal and stationary) were collected at the same time. The mean values of both benzo(a)pyrene diolepoxide (BPDE)-DNA adducts were measured by synchronous fluorescence spectrophotometry (SFS) and the antibodies to these adducts increased somewhat after the work at the plant started. However, all the adduct values were low, and no differences between the smokers and non-smokers at any time point were detected. Battery workers had slightly increased means of BPDE-DNA adducts compared to non-battery workers. Also, coke oven workers had slightly higher adduct values than age, sex and smoking matched controls.

7,8-Dihydro-7,8-dihydroxybenzo(a)pyrene 9,10-oxide↗
PubMed1990

Exposure assessment of workers in the production of cyclophosphamide.

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is an experimentally well documented mutagen and carcinogen both in vitro and in vivo test systems, and also in humans. It is biotransformed to alkylating metabolites, but also at its manufacture stages includes potent alkylating intermediates. The highest potential exposure during manufacture, detected by chemical analysis of air samples, was found to occur during specific operations at the end of the process, when airborne concentrations of CP may rise up to several hundred micrograms/m3. Mutagenicity measurements of air samples at the beginning of the process revealed direct mutagenicity similar to the CP intermediates. The workers were using supplied air masks, gloves and protective clothing, and no responses in urinary mutagenicity were detected when after-work and after-holiday samples were compared. Also, the cytogenetic parameters such as chromosomal aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges (SCE), did not differ in frequency between the group of workers in the CP production unit and the control group from other units of the same factory.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1988

Biological and environmental monitoring of occupational exposure to cyclophosphamide in industry and hospitals.

The aims of the study were to clarify potential exposure situations to anticancer agents during industrial processing, drug manufacture and hospital administration, using cyclophosphamide (CP) as the model compound. CP is considered an animal and human carcinogen, and it is shown to be an indirect mutagen in various test systems using several genetic endpoints. Environmental monitoring was performed by collecting ambient air samples during the different processing and handling stages. Both stationary and personal sampling was used. CP was analyzed by liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS). The process materials and intermediates were also analyzed for genotoxic activity using the Ames test and SCE induction in CHO cells as endpoints. Biological monitoring studies were performed on 147 persons representing 5 groups of workers, control subjects and patients. In the experimental part of the project, the intermediates in the CP manufacturing process, CP I (nor-nitrogen mustard) and CP II (phosphoroxydichloride mustard) were found directly active in the 2 genotoxicity tests. These findings led to improvements in work hygiene when handling CP I and CP II in the process. The CP measurements showed that the highest potential-exposure sites occurred during specific operations of the process, e.g., during emptying of the drying drum and during tablet mass preparation (the range of CP concentrations in air was 0.16-0.49 mg/m3). The correlation between indirect genotoxicity and chemical analyses of the ambient air samples was good, revealing the activity to be due to cyclophosphamide. However, the air samples were found mutagenic without metabolic activation also in the beginning of the process; this is obviously due to CP II particles in the ambient air, since no CP was detected chemically. The personal protection of workers in the plant collaborating in the study is efficient and the production unit is equipped with the best available techniques to protect both the personnel and the quality of the drug. Both the urine mutagenicity analyses using strain TA1535 of Salmonella typhimurium as indicator and the cytogenetic analyses of peripheral blood lymphocytes using sister-chromatid exchanges or structural chromosomal aberrations as endpoints were negative. However, a statistically nonsignificant trend in increased number of micronuclei was observed in binucleated lymphocytes of the worker groups as compared with controls. The studies on the hospital use of CP were performed in 3 oncological units and 1 pharmacy unit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1988

Ambient monitoring of cyclophosphamide in manufacture and hospitals.

Cyclophosphamide (CP), one of the most commonly used cytostatic drugs, is known to be a human carcinogen. In this study, CP represents a model compound for the identification of potential exposure situations in the various phases of its manufacture and hospital use. Ambient air samples were taken in the various phases and analyzed for CP. A low detection limit (0.05 micrograms/m3 for a 1 m3 sample volume) was obtained for CP using the mass spectrometry method (MS) developed for this study. The detection limit was 1 microgram/m3 with the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The correlation between the two methods was good. The highest potential exposure situations were found to occur during specific operations at the end of the process. During these operations the airborne CP concentrations may rise as high as several hundred micrograms/m3, and the workers must use supplied-air respirators, gloves and protective clothing. For the measurements in hospital use, air samples were taken from flow hoods. During normal working practices, no measurable amounts of CP could be observed. A filter from a flow hood, however, contained CP in measurable quantities, showing that occasional spilling may occur.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1987

Exposure to creosote in the impregnation and handling of impregnated wood.

The major components of vapors and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in particulate matter were identified and quantified in two creosote impregnation plants and in the handling of treated wood. The vapors were collected on XAD-2 resin (recovery in the range of 82-102%) and analyzed by gas chromatography. Particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were collected on glass fiber filters and analyzed with high-pressure liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. The main components of the vapors were naphthalene, methyl naphthalenes, indene, phenol, and its methyl homologues, benzothiophene, diphenyl, acenaphthene and fluorene. The exposure of the workers to vapors varied between 0.1 and 11 mg/m3. The concentrations of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons varied between 0.2 and 46 micrograms/m3. The benzo(a)pyrene concentration was under 0.03 micrograms/m3, except in manual metal-arc welding and in the boring of railroad ties, where it was 0.24-0.89 micrograms/m3. In the measurement of creosote vapors, naphthalene could be used as an indicator agent.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1984

Solvent exposure in construction and maintenance painting.

Exposure to solvents in interior house painting was determined by industrial hygiene surveys and questionnaires on work history. Painting work was observed in 92 work situations at 18 sites, mainly during maintenance work. The effects of the size of the work area, the volume of air, the type of paint, the amount used, the method of application, and the use of ventilation on the solvent concentrations were also studied. In small, poorly ventilated rooms the concentration of solvent naphtha averaged 275 ppm when alkyd paints were used. Wall and ceiling painting with alkyd paints yielded an average solvent naphtha concentration of 210 ppm, and window and door painting 80 ppm. The presence of a strong draft reduced the solvent concentrations by two-thirds. The painters' average lifetime dose of solvent naphtha was 12.2 kg, the average annual dose 0.54 kg. These levels decreased over the study period. The mean 8-h concentration of solvent naphtha in the breathing zone averaged 40 ppm over the painters' total worklife.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1983

Determination of vanadium in workplace air by DCP emission spectrometry.

This paper provides a method for directly determining vanadium in workplace air by direct current plasma atomic emission spectrometry (DCP-AES). Wavelength selection, instrument operating parameters, and sample preparation methods were studied. It was found that the most suitable wavelength for the analytical line is 437.924 nm (DL 0.006 mg/L) but also the line 309.311 nm (DL 0.003 mg/L) can be used. The results obtained by DCP-AES were compared with those obtained by both flame (FAAS) and electrothermal atomization (ETA-AAS) atomic absorption spectrometry.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1981

Serum and urinary vanadium of workers processing vanadium pentoxide.

Serum and urinary vanadium concentrations were investigated in eight men exposed to vanadium pentoxide dust. The creatinine-adjusted urinary vanadium concentrations were found to correlate with serum vanadium concentrations (r = 0.81), but not with the vanadium contents of factory air. The urinary vanadium excretion decreased significantly with the time the workers spent out of exposure. At the beginning of their summer holidays the serum vanadium concentration of the workers was 393 +/- 223 (S.D.) nmol/l and the urinary excretion of vanadium 73 +/- 50 nmol/mmol of creatinine. Three days after exposure the urinary excretion of vanadium was 46 +/- 24 nmol/mmol of creatinine. On the 16th day of their holidays vanadium could be detected in the serum (225 +/- 83 nmol/l) and in the urine (48 +/- 26 nmol/mmol of creatinine) of the workers. Eight family members of the exposed had less vanadium in urine (32 +/- 17 nmol/mmol of creatinine). These results suggest that most of the absorbed vanadium is excreted in the urine within one day after a long-term moderate exposure to vanadium dust.

Adult↗