Toluene and Heavy Metals in Small Automotive Refinishing Shops and Personal Protection of the Workers in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Table 3

Ambient levels of toluene and biomarker of toluene exposure in workers.

Study groups	Study parameters
	Ambient levels of toluene (ppm)^a			Urinary hippuric acid (g/g creatinine)^b
	n	Mean ± SD	Median	n	Mean ± SD	Median
			(min-max)			(min-max)
Painting tasks	3	14.76 ± 3.63	15.01	6	0.58 ± 0.38	0.54
			(11.01–18.26)			(0.17–1.13)
Nonpainting tasks	3	9.41 ± 2.53	9.01	16	0.27 ± 0.26	0.28
			(7.1–12.12)			(0.02–1.09)
Administrative tasks	3	0.13 ± 0.15	0.05	5	0.27 ± 0.20	0.27
			(0.04–0.30)			(0.04–0.48)

^a8-hour-average. ^bPostshift.