Human Urinary Biomonitoring of Occupational Exposure to Dichloromethane

Background. In Indonesia, dichloromethane is primarily used as solvent in paint remover, chemical manufacturing, cellulose fibre production, film photography, textile making, as food flavourings extraction and coffee decaffeination, and as a reagent for analysis in laboratories. Exposure DCM in long term can increase risk for several specific cancers, including brain cancer, liver and biliary tract cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. This study aimed to determine human urinary biomonitoring to assess dichloromethane exposure in the worker populations. Methods. Literature databases (PubMed, Scopus and Embase) were screened using the keywords ‘dichloromethane’, ‘methylene chloride’, ‘biological monitoring’, and ‘occupational exposure’ Seven studies met inclusion criteria. Following exclusion criteria, three studies were eligible and applicable. Results. Biological monitoring of occupational DCM exposure is possible by use of analysis for un-metabolized DCM in end-of-shift urine. Time-weighted average DCM-A was measured by diffusive sampling followed by gas-chromatography (GC), and DCM in end-of-shift urine samples was by head-space GC. The detection limit of urinary DCM was found to be 0.01 mg/l. Urine sample collect in end shift work; the samples were kept in refrigerator until analyse use HC-GC-MS. Conclusion. From the studies, it’s important for worker who exposure DCM to use personal protective equipment, example hand gloves and respiratory mask. There’s no recommendation when the best time to do human urinary biomonitoring of DCM. But, if there are signs of intoxication DCM, the author suggests do human urinary biomonitoring of DCM.