Comparison of inhaled furfuryl alcohol vapour with urinary furoic acid excretion in exposed foundry workers by chromatographic techniques

Abstract

A gas-chromatographic method using a ⁶³Ni electron-capture detector was developed for furfuryl alcohol vapour. The detection limit for the vapour was 0.017 mg m^–3(0.004 cm³ m^–3), indicating a superior sensitivity compared with older techniques. Furfuryl alcohol exposure was measured by personal sampling of six foundry workers. Their excretion of urinary furoic acid after alkaline hydrolysis of its glycine conjugates was also determined by liquid chromatography. The exposure was compared with their furoic acid excretion 2 h after tasks involving hardening of core sand with furfuryl alcohol as a binding agent. The product of the sampling time and vapour concentration predicted accurately the urinary fuoric acid excretion, so that the latter can be used as a biological indicator of exposure to the vapour.