Gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric determination of chlorophenols in the urine of sawmill workers with past use of chlorophenol-containing anti-stain agents

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Abstract
The aim of this work was to establish whether workers at sawmills where chlorophenol-containing anti-stain agents had been previously used were still exposed to chlorophenols. A gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric (GC–MS) procedure for the determination of chlorophenols in urine was developed. Chlorophenols were determined from hydrolysed urine as acetylated derivatives and determined by GC–MS using selected ion monitoring (SIM). Isolation of the chlorophenols with toluene gave the best extraction efficiencies (65–119%). Stability tests at –20 °C showed no degradation of the chlorophenols studied during 6 months. The limit of quantification was 3.6 ng mg–1 creatinine for 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 5.5 ng mg–1 for 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol and 3.6 ng mg–1 for pentachlorophenol. Traces of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol and pentachlorophenol were found both in previously exposed workers and in non-exposed controls, the urinary concentrations ranging from 1.1 to 15.9 ng mg–1 creatinine. The concentrations of urinary chlorophenols in previously exposed workers were of the same magnitude as those found in non-exposed controls and in the general population. The results show that it is unlikely that sawmill workers would be currently occupationally exposed to chlorophenols or polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans via a contaminated work environment.