Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 105, Number 8, August 1997
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Airborne Arsenic and Urinary Excretion of Arsenic Metabolites during Boiler Cleaning Operations in a Slovak Coal-fired Power Plant
Janice W. Yager,
1
Jeffrey B. Hicks,
2
and Eleonora Fabianova
3
1
Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA 94303 USA
2
Geomatrix Consultants, San Francisco, CA 94111 USA
3
Specialized State Health Institute, Banska Bystrica, The Slovak Republic
Abstract
Little information is available on the relationship between occupational exposure to inorganic arsenic in coal fly ash and urinary excretion of arsenic metabolites. This study was undertaken in a coal-fired power plant in Slovakia during a routine maintenance outage. Arsenic was measured in the breathing zone of workers during 5 consecutive workdays, and urine samples were obtained for analysis of arsenic metabolites--inorganic arsenic (As
i
), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)--prior to the start of each shift. Results from a small number of cascade impactor air samples indicated that approximately 90% of total particle mass and arsenic was present in particle size fractions
3.5 µm. The 8-hr time-weighted average (TWA) mean arsenic air concentration was 48.3 µg/m
3
(range 0.17-375.2) and the mean sum of urinary arsenic (
As) metabolites was 16.9 µg As/g creatinine (range 2.6-50.8). For an 8-hr TWA of 10 µg/m
3
arsenic from coal fly ash, the predicted mean concentration of the
As urinary metabolites was 13.2 µg As/g creatinine [95% confidence interval (CI), 10.1-16.3). Comparisons with previously published studies of exposure to arsenic trioxide vapors and dusts in copper smelters suggest that bioavailability of arsenic from airborne coal fly ash (as indicated by urinary excretion) is about one-third that seen in smelters and similar settings. Arsenic compound characteristics, matrix composition, and particle size distribution probably play major roles in determining actual uptake of airborne arsenic.
Key words
: arsenic, biological monitoring, coal, occupational exposure, power plant, urinary metabolites.
Environ Health Perspect
105:836-842 (1997)
Address correspondence to J.W. Yager, Environment Group, Electric Power Research Institute, 3412 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94303 USA.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the outstanding contributions of the field and laboratory research teams at the Specialized State Health Institute, Banska Bystrica, and the State Health Institute, Prievidza, The Slovak Republic. Many thanks also for excellent statistical support to Mark Segal and Margaret Wrench, University of California, San Francisco and consultant Abe Silvers. This study was supported by the Electric Power Research Institute under contract WO 3370-12 Specialized State Health Institute and WO 3370-20 Geomatrix Consultants, Inc.
Received 27 December 1996; accepted 3 April 1997.
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Last Update: September 23, 1997
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