Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are an important public health issue in Korea and many important questions remain to be addressed with respect to assessing exposure to these compounds. Because they are ubiquitous and highly volatile, special techniques must be applied in their analytic determination. Valid personal exposure assessment methods are needed to evaluate exposure frequency, duration and intensity, as well as their relationship to personal exposure characteristics. Biological monitoring is also important since it may contribute significantly in risk assessment by allowing the estimation of effective absorbed doses. This study was onducted to establish the environmental measurement, personal dosimetry and biological monitoring methods for VOCs. These methods are needed to compare blood, urinary and exhalation breath VOC levels and to provide tools for risk assessment of VOC exposure. Passive monitors (badge type) and a active samplers (trap) for the VOCs collection were used for air sampling. Methods development included determining the minimum detectable amounts of VOCs in each media, as well as evaluating collection methods and developing analytical procedures. Method reliability was assessed by determining breakthrough volumes and comparing results between laboratories and with other methods. A total capacity of trap used in this study was 60 l. Although variable by compound, the average breakthrough was 20%. Also, there was no loss of compounds in trap even if keep for 45 day in -70℃. The recovery of active and passive methods was 69%~126% and method detection limit was 0.24 μg/trap and 0.07 μg/badge. There was no statistical difference (P>0.05) between active and passive methods.
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