Human exposure to volatile organic compounds: a comparison of organic vapor monitoring badge levels with blood levels

We undertook a study in Albany, New York, to investigate whether volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measurable in the blood and in the breathing-zone air of people exposed to gasoline fumes and automotive exhaust. We sampled blood of 40 subjects, placed organic vapor badges on 40 subjects, and obtained personal breathing-zone samples from 24 subjects. We limited this analysis to 19 subjects who wore the organic vapor badges for at least 5 h. VOC levels, as determined by the organic vapor badges, were highly correlated with blood levels of these same compounds. Using detection in blood as the gold standard, we found the badges to be more sensitive than conventional charcoal tube samples in detecting low levels of methyl tert-butyl ether (0.60 vs 0.08), toluene (0.95 vs 0.64), and o-xylene (0.85 vs 0.64). In this study, organic vapor badges provided data on VOC exposure that correlated with blood assay results. These organic vapor badges might provide a convenient means of determining human exposure to VOCs in epidemiologic studies.