Hippuric Acid Assessment as an Occupational Exposure Biomarker in Workers of Gas Stations

  • Gracieli Lorenzetti Grendele Fundação Universidade do Contestado - UnC
  • Mário Lettieri Teixeira Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó - UNOCHAPECÓ
Keywords: Occupational health, Pharmacological biomarkers, Gas pump.

Abstract

One of the more marketed fuels is the gasoline, that consists of a mixture of derived petroleum hydrocarbon. The hydrocarbons aromatics, as the benzene, toluene and xylene are present in the composition of the gasoline. The hippuric acid is considered a marker of occupational exposure for the toluene. This way, the objective of this work was to evaluate the workers' exposure in the gas station through the urine dosage of hippuric acid. The present study was accomplished in the municipal district of Concordia (Santa Catarina), in the period of May to June, 2009, with gas station workers. They were chosen 10 gas station, the samples were constituted by 30 workers, 2 involved directly with the filling station and 1 worker that didn't maintain direct contact (office), totaling 30 samples. The samples were collected at the end of the week work day, after four hours of exposure. The creatinine dosage and hippuric acid were accomplished at a private laboratory with methodology recommended by Regulatory Norm number 7 of the Labor Department. From the appraised workers, 73.3% were male, 34% of age group from 21 to 30 years old, and with less time of work to 1 year for 40% of the interviewees. Only 1 employee presented a value of hippuric acid high to the extolled by the legislation. Among the exposed workers to the toluene, it was verified that just a worker presented association between the time of exposure and the intoxication. The others analyzed they didn't present any indication of occupational exhibition.

Author Biographies

Gracieli Lorenzetti Grendele, Fundação Universidade do Contestado - UnC
Discente do Curso de Farmácia da Fundação Universidade do Contestado - UnC-Concórdia. E-mail: graci_lorenzetti@hotmail.com
Mário Lettieri Teixeira, Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó - UNOCHAPECÓ
Farmacêutico graduado pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS; Mestre em Biologia Celular e Molecular pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS; Docente titular da Fundação Universidade do Contestado - UnC-Concórdia; Docente do Curso de Farmácia no Centro de Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó - UNOCHAPECÓ. E-mail: mario.lettieri@terra.com.br
Published
2009-10-20
Section
Artigos Originais