1
|
Huuskonen P, Porras SP, Scholten B, Portengen L, Uuksulainen S, Ylinen K, Santonen T. Occupational Exposure and Health Impact Assessment of Diisocyanates in Finland. TOXICS 2023; 11:229. [PMID: 36976995 PMCID: PMC10052111 DOI: 10.3390/toxics11030229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Diisocyanates are a group of chemicals widely used in different industrial applications. The critical health effects related to diisocyanate exposure are isocyanate sensitisation, occupational asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). Industrial air measurements and human biomonitoring (HBM) samples were gathered in specific occupational sectors to examine MDI, TDI, HDI and IPDI and the respective metabolites from Finnish screening studies. HBM data can give a more accurate picture of diisocyanate exposure, especially if workers have been exposed dermally or used respiratory protection. The HBM data were used for conducting a health impact assessment (HIA) in specific Finnish occupational sectors. For this purpose, exposure reconstruction was performed on the basis of HBM measurements of TDI and MDI exposures using a PBPK model, and a correlation equation was made for HDI exposure. Subsequently, the exposure estimates were compared to a previously published dose-response curve for excess BHR risk. The results showed that the mean and median diisocyanate exposure levels and HBM concentrations were low for all diisocyanates. In HIA, the excess risk of BHR from MDI exposure over a working life period was highest in the construction and motor and vehicle industries and repair sectors, resulting in estimated excess risks of BHR of 2.0% and 2.6%, and 113 and 244 extra BHR cases in Finland, respectively. Occupational exposure to diisocyanates must be monitored because a clear threshold for DI sensitisation cannot be established.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pasi Huuskonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FI-00032 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Simo P. Porras
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FI-00032 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Bernice Scholten
- The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Lützen Portengen
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3584 CK Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Sanni Uuksulainen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FI-00032 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Katriina Ylinen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FI-00032 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tiina Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FI-00032 Helsinki, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sayles C, Finnegan N, Pike T, Spence MW. Toluene diisocyanate occupational exposure data in the polyurethane industry (2005-2020): A descriptive summary from an industrial hygiene perspective. Toxicol Ind Health 2022; 38:606-621. [PMID: 35929225 DOI: 10.1177/07482337221112225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
This article provides an overview of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) workplace air concentration data. Data were collected between 2005-2020 in workplaces across the United States, Canada, and the European Union by a number of different organizations, primarily using the sampling procedures published in OSHA Methods 42 and 5002. The data were then collated and organized by the International Isocyanate Institute. Air samples were collected from several market segments, with a large portion of the data (87%) from the flexible foam industry. The air samples (2534 in total) were categorized into "area" or "personal," and the personal samples were subcategorized into "task," "short term," and "long term." Most of the air sample concentrations (87%) were less than 5 ppb. However, the presence of airborne TDI greater than 5 ppb indicated the importance of respiratory protection in some situations; therefore, respirator use patterns were studied and summarized. Additionally, this article provides a summary of air sample concentrations at different flexible foam manufacturing job roles. The information on air sampling concentrations and respiratory protection during TDI applications collected in this paper could be useful for product stewardship and industrial hygiene purposes in the industries studied.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mark W Spence
- International Isocyanate Institute, Inc., Mountain Lakes, NJ, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Scholten B, Kenny L, Duca RC, Pronk A, Santonen T, Galea KS, Loh M, Huumonen K, Sleeuwenhoek A, Creta M, Godderis L, Jones K. Biomonitoring for Occupational Exposure to Diisocyanates: A Systematic Review. Ann Work Expo Health 2021; 64:569-585. [PMID: 32313948 PMCID: PMC7328470 DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxaa038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Revised: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Diisocyanates are a group of chemicals that are widely used in occupational settings. They are known to induce various health effects, including skin- and respiratory tract sensitization resulting in allergic dermatitis and asthma. Exposure to diisocyanates has been studied in the past decades by using different types of biomonitoring markers and matrices. The aim of this review as part of the HBM4EU project was to assess: (i) which biomarkers and matrices have been used for biomonitoring diisocyanates and what are their strengths and limitations; (ii) what are (current) biomonitoring levels of the major diisocyanates (and metabolites) in workers; and (iii) to characterize potential research gaps. For this purpose we conducted a systematic literature search for the time period 2000–end 2018, thereby focussing on three types of diisocyanates which account for the vast majority of the total isocyanate market volume: hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI), and 4,4′-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). A total of 28 publications were identified which fulfilled the review inclusion criteria. The majority of these studies (93%) investigated the corresponding diamines in either urine or plasma, but adducts have also been investigated by several research groups. Studies on HDI were mostly in the motor vehicle repair industry [with urinary hexamethylene diamine result ranging from 0.03 to 146.5 µmol mol−1 creatinine]. For TDI, there is mostly data on foam production [results for urinary toluene diamine ranging from ~0.01 to 97 µmol mol−1 creatinine] whereas the available MDI data are mainly from the polyurethane industry (results for methylenediphenyl diamine range from 0.01 to 32.7 µmol mol−1 creatinine). About half of the studies published were prior to 2010 hence might not reflect current workplace exposure. There is large variability within and between studies and across sectors which could be potentially explained by several factors including worker or workplace variability, short half-lives of biomarkers, and differences in sampling strategies and analytical techniques. We identified several research gaps which could further be taken into account when studying diisocyanates biomonitoring levels: (i) the development of specific biomarkers is promising (e.g. to study oligomers of HDI which have been largely neglected to date) but needs more research before they can be widely applied, (ii) since analytical methods differ between studies a more uniform approach would make comparisons between studies easier, and (iii) dermal absorption seems a possible exposure route and needs to be further investigated. The use of MDI, TDI, and HDI has been recently proposed to be restricted in the European Union unless specific conditions for workers’ training and risk management measures apply. This review has highlighted the need for a harmonized approach to establishing a baseline against which the success of the restriction can be evaluated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bernice Scholten
- Risk Assessment for Products in Development, TNO Quality of Life, Zeist, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Kenny
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Harpur Hill, Buxton, UK
| | - Radu-Corneliu Duca
- Unit Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring, Department of Health Protection, National Health Laboratory, Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Anjoeka Pronk
- Risk Assessment for Products in Development, TNO Quality of Life, Zeist, The Netherlands
| | | | - Karen S Galea
- Centre for Human Exposure Science (CHES), Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Edinburgh, UK
| | - Miranda Loh
- Centre for Human Exposure Science (CHES), Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Anne Sleeuwenhoek
- Centre for Human Exposure Science (CHES), Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Edinburgh, UK
| | - Matteo Creta
- Centre Environment and Health, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lode Godderis
- Centre Environment and Health, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Kate Jones
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Harpur Hill, Buxton, UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Hulst AG, Verstappen DRW, van der Riet-Van Oeveren D, Vermeulen NPE, Noort D. Mass spectrometric identification of isocyanate-induced modifications of keratins in human skin. Chem Biol Interact 2015; 237:141-50. [PMID: 26070416 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2015.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2015] [Revised: 05/13/2015] [Accepted: 06/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In the current paper we show that exposure of human callus to isocyanates leads to covalent modifications within keratin proteins. Mass spectrometric analyses of pronase digests of keratin isolated from exposed callus show that both mono- and di-adducts (for di-isocyanates) are predominantly formed on the ε-amino group of lysine. In addition, numerous modified tryptic keratin fragments were identified, demonstrating rather random lysine modification. Interestingly, preliminary experiments demonstrate that in case of MDI a similar lysine di-adduct was formed with lung elastin. Our data support the hypothesis that skin sensitization through antigenic modifications of skin proteins by isocyanates could play a role in occupational isocyanate-induced asthma. It is further envisaged that the elucidated adducts will also have great potential for use as biomarkers to assess skin exposure to isocyanates. Advantageously, the various lysine adducts display the presence of a characteristic daughter fragment at m/z 173.1 [lysine-NCO](+), enabling generic and rapid screening for exposure to isocyanates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Albert G Hulst
- TNO, Department of CBRN Protection, P.O. Box 45, 2280 AA Rijswijk, The Netherlands
| | - Daan R W Verstappen
- TNO, Department of CBRN Protection, P.O. Box 45, 2280 AA Rijswijk, The Netherlands; Section of Molecular Toxicology, AIMMS, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Nico P E Vermeulen
- Section of Molecular Toxicology, AIMMS, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Daan Noort
- TNO, Department of CBRN Protection, P.O. Box 45, 2280 AA Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Prueitt RL, Rhomberg LR, Goodman JE. Hypothesis-based weight-of-evidence evaluation of the human carcinogenicity of toluene diisocyanate. Crit Rev Toxicol 2013; 43:391-435. [DOI: 10.3109/10408444.2013.790877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
|
6
|
Lindberg HK, Korpi A, Santonen T, Säkkinen K, Järvelä M, Tornaeus J, Ahonen N, Järventaus H, Pasanen AL, Rosenberg C, Norppa H. Micronuclei, hemoglobin adducts and respiratory tract irritation in mice after inhalation of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and 4,4′-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). MUTATION RESEARCH-GENETIC TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENESIS 2011; 723:1-10. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2011.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2010] [Revised: 01/17/2011] [Accepted: 03/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|