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Metabolism of trichloroethylene in human

Sex difference in urinary excretion of trichloroacetic acid and trichloroethanol

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Summary

Retention and respiratory elimination of trichloroethylene, and urinary excretion of trichloroethylene metabolites were determined in ten volunteer students exposed to 250–380 ppm trichloroethylene for 160 min.

  1. 1.

    Retention amounted to 36% of the inhaled trichloroethylene.

  2. 2.

    Trichloroethylene was eliminated through respiration after exposure, and the concentration in expired air decreased exponentially with a rate constant k∶:0.14 hour−1. Respiratory elimination of trichloroethylene was 16% of the retained trichloroethylene.

  3. 3.

    Urinary excretion of total trichloro-compounds decreased exponentially with k∶:0.23 day−1 in males and 0.20 in females.

  4. 4.

    Urinary excretion of trichloroacetic acid and trichloroethanol were 32.6% and 48.6% in males, and 43.9% and 42.7% of the retained trichloroethylene in females.

  5. 5.

    Trichloroacetic acid in females was found to be 2–3 times more than that in males for the first 24 hours after exposure. Trichloroethanol, on the contrary, was excreted twice more in males than in females for the first 12 hours. Therefore, the trichloroethanol to trichloroacetic acid ratio was significantly different between males and females by 5.5 times for the first 24 hours after exposure.

  6. 6.

    These findings suggest a sex difference in human metabolism of trichloroethylene. Urinary total trichloro-compounds form a better index of trichloroethylene exposure than urinary trichloroacetic acid.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hygiene, Gunma University, School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan

    Kazuo Nomiyama & Hiroko Nomiyama

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  1. Kazuo Nomiyama
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  2. Hiroko Nomiyama
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Read before the 43rd Annual Meeting of Japan Industrial Health Association, Tokushima, April 2, 1970.

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Nomiyama, K., Nomiyama, H. Metabolism of trichloroethylene in human. Int. Arch. Arbeitsmed 28, 37–48 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00539728

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00539728

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