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Int Arch Occup Environ Health

Title:		Volatile organic compounds in the blood of persons in Kuwait during the oil fires
Author(s):		Etzel RA; Ashley DL;
Address:		"National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, Georgia"
Journal Title:		Int Arch Occup Environ Health
Year:		1994
Volume:		66
Issue:		2
Page Number:		125 - 129
DOI:		10.1007/BF00383368
ISSN/ISBN:		0340-0131 (Print) 0340-0131 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Between March and November of 1991, approximately 9000 workers from 43 different countries battled the burning oil wells in Kuwait. To document the exposure of persons in Kuwait during the oil well fires to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), we obtained samples of blood from 14 U.S. personnel in Kuwait City in May of 1991 (group I) and 40 American firefighters working in the oil fields in October of 1991 (group II). Concentrations of VOCs in group I and group II were compared with those of a random sample of 114 persons in the United States (reference group). The median concentrations of VOCs in group I were equal to or lower than those in the reference group. We found significant differences between the median concentrations of several VOCs in group II and the reference group. Median levels of ethylbenzene were about 10 times higher among group II than among the reference group (0.53 microgram/l vs 0.052 microgram/l). Median levels of benzene, m-/p-xylene, o-xylene, styrene, and toluene among group II were more than double those of the reference group. Although firefighters had higher median concentrations of VOCs than the reference group, those American personnel in Kuwait not involved in fighting the oil fires had concentrations of VOCs comparable to those in the reference group. Blood VOC measurements indicate a significant increase in exposure to VOCs in firefighters, but do not demonstrate this in personnel in Kuwait City"
Keywords:		Adult Aged Benzene/*analysis Benzene Derivatives/*blood Environmental Exposure/*analysis Environmental Monitoring Female *Fires Hazardous Substances/*analysis Humans *Industrial Oils Kuwait Male Middle Aged *Smoke Styrene Styrenes/blood Toluene/blood Warf;
Notes:		"MedlineEtzel, R A Ashley, D L eng Comparative Study Germany 1994/01/01 Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1994; 66(2):125-9. doi: 10.1007/BF00383368"