| Dermal Exposure to Jet Fuel JP-8 Significantly Contributes to the Production of Urinary Naphthols in Fuel-Cell Maintenance Workers Yi-Chun E. Chao,1 Lawrence L. Kupper,2 Berrin Serdar,1 Peter
P. Egeghy,1 Stephen M. Rappaport,1 and
Leena A. Nylander-French1 1Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, and 2Department
of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Abstract
Jet propulsion fuel 8 (JP-8) is the major jet fuel used worldwide and has been recognized as a major source of chemical exposure, both inhalation and dermal, for fuel-cell maintenance workers. We investigated the contributions of dermal and inhalation exposure to JP-8 to the total body dose of U.S. Air Force fuel-cell maintenance workers using naphthalene as a surrogate for JP-8 exposure. Dermal, breathing zone, and exhaled breath measurements of naphthalene were obtained using tape-strip sampling, passive monitoring, and glass bulbs, respectively. Levels of urinary 1- and 2-naphthols were determined in urine samples and used as biomarkers of JP-8 exposure. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relative contributions of dermal and inhalation exposure to JP-8, and demographic and work-related covariates, to the levels of urinary naphthols. Our results show that both inhalation exposure and smoking significantly contributed to urinary 1-naphthol levels. The contribution of dermal exposure was significantly associated with levels of urinary 2-naphthol but not with urinary 1-naphthol among fuel-cell maintenance workers who wore supplied-air respirators. We conclude that dermal exposure to JP-8 significantly contributes to the systemic dose and affects the levels of urinary naphthalene metabolites. Future work on dermal xenobiotic metabolism and toxicokinetic studies are warranted in order to gain additional knowledge on naphthalene metabolism in the skin and the contribution to systemic exposure. Key words: 1-naphthol, 2-naphthol, biomarker, dermal exposure, jet fuel (JP-8) , naphthalene (CAS 91-20-3) , Pratt index, relative contribution, tape stripping, total body dose. Environ Health Perspect 114:182-185 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8288 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 29 September 2005]
Address correspondence to L.A. Nylander-French, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #7431, Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400 USA. Telephone: (919) 966-3826. Fax: (919) 966-4711. E-mail: leena_french@unc.edu We thank the workers for their participation in the study and J. Archer for his assistance in sample collection and analysis. This work was supported by the U.S. Air Force through a subcontract with Texas Tech University (1331/0489-01) , by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (T42/CCT410423-09) , and by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P42ES05948 and T32-ES07018) . The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 5 May 2005 ; accepted 29 September 2005. The full version of this article is available for free in HTML or PDF formats. |
