Evaluation and Comparison of Urinary Metabolic Biomarkers of Exposure for the Jet Fuel JP-8

• Published in: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A Vol. 75; no. 11; pp. 661 - 672
• Main Authors: B'Hymer, Clayton, Krieg, Edward, Cheever, Kenneth L., Toennis, Christine A., Clark, John C., Kesner, James S., Gibson, Roger, Butler, Mary Ann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis Group 01.06.2012; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Acetates - urine; Acetylcysteine - analogs & derivatives; Acetylcysteine - urine; Acids; Adjustment; Adult; Airports; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - urine; Categories; Chromatography; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Creatinine; Creatinine - urine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fuels; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Human exposure; Humans; Hydrocarbons - administration & dosage; Hydrocarbons - pharmacokinetics; Jet fuels; Limit of Detection; Mass spectrometry; Military Facilities; Military Personnel; Occupational Exposure; Petroleum - metabolism; Samples; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; United States; Urinalysis - methods; United States > US
• ISSN: 1528-7394; 1087-2620; 2381-3504
• DOI: 10.1080/15287394.2012.688483

A study of workers exposed to jet fuel propellant 8 (JP-8) was conducted at U.S. Air Force bases and included the evaluation of three biomarkers of exposure: S-benzylmercapturic acid (BMA), S-phenylmercapturic acid (PMA), and (2-methoxyethoxy)acetic acid (MEAA). Postshift urine specimens were collected from various personnel categorized as high (n = 98), moderate (n = 38) and low (n = 61) JP-8 exposure based on work activities. BMA and PMA urinary levels were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS), and MEAA urinary levels were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The numbers of samples determined as positive for the presence of the BMA biomarker (above the test method's limit of detection [LOD = 0.5 ng/ml]) were 96 (98.0%), 37 (97.4%), and 58 (95.1%) for the high, moderate, and low (control) exposure workgroup categories, respectively. The numbers of samples determined as positive for the presence of the PMA biomarker (LOD = 0.5 ng/ml) were 33 (33.7%), 9 (23.7%), and 12 (19.7%) for the high, moderate, and low exposure categories. The numbers of samples determined as positive for the presence of the MEAA biomarker (LOD = 0.1 μ g/ml) were 92 (93.4%), 13 (34.2%), and 2 (3.3%) for the high, moderate, and low exposure categories. Statistical analysis of the mean levels of the analytes demonstrated MEAA to be the most accurate or appropriate biomarker for JP-8 exposure using urinary concentrations either adjusted or not adjusted for creatinine; mean levels of BMA and PMA were not statistically significant between workgroup categories after adjusting for creatinine.