Summary
The biological half-life (T 1/2) of the urinary metabolites was measured in human subjects occupationally exposed to either trichloroethylene (24 males and 6 females) or tetrachloroethylene (9 males and 4 females). The mean of the T 1/2 of total trichloro-compounds was approx. 41 hrs in the former group, the value being essentially the same as that obtained from the experimental exposure of volunteers; the mean in the latter was approx. 144 hrs, which is 3 to 4 times as long as the former. The results were supplemented with animal experiments to examine possible metabolism modulators such as the sexes, vapor concentration, repetition of exposure, and phenobarbital pretreatment. The toxicological significances of the T 1/2 determination are discussed in relation to evaluation of the threshold limit values in industrial hygiene as well as a measure to screen out subjects vulnerable to toxic substances.
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This work was supported in part by research grants from Japanese Ministry of Education and from the Fujiwara Memorial Foundation. A part of the work was presented at the 17th International Congress on Occupational Health in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 17–23, 1972.
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Ikeda, M., Imamura, T. Biological half-life of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in human subjects. Int. Arch. Arbeitsmed 31, 209–224 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00539241
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00539241