Biological monitoring of occupational exposure to acrylonitrile

Acrylonitrile (ACN) is a solvent widely used in industry especially as raw material in the manufacturing of acrylic fibres, clothes and domestic furniture. It is also used in manufacturing of resins (ACN-butadiene-styrene...) and for production of nitrilic elastomers. Some researchers proposed the biological monitoring of occupational exposure to ACN by measuring the solvent in the urine, but results were widely spread especially in relation to the analytical method used. This article reports the main aspects that can reduce the variability of results. We checked several ACN solutions in water and urine after heating at 90 degrees C for 1, 3, 5, 8 and 16 hours. Water solutions maintained their ACN concentration in all the checked conditions, while urine concentrations of ACN in urine deceased during the conditioning time until 80% of their initial concentration. The analysis of ACN in urine provided by workers potentially exposed to ACN and by control subjects gave median results of 1.9 and 2.0 micrograms/g creat, without any statistical difference. The results split in relation to the smoking habit showed a statistic difference: the median values of ACN were 1.7 and 4.7 micrograms/g creat, respectively among the 175 non-smokers and 57 smokers.