• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.1-7
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• 1996

Mandelic acid is the major metabolite and phenylglyoxylic acid is the minor metabolite of styrene in human. This study was conducted to investigate the correlation between exposure concentrations of styrene and concentration of the metabolites in urine The concentrations of metabolites in urine and exposure concentrations were measured in 60 workers who were occupationally exposed to styrene in FRP industry as well as paint industry and musical instrument manufacturing industry and the concentrations of metabolites in urine ware measured in 90 workers not occupationally exposed to styrene for review the background level in the unexposed population. The results obtained were as follows; 1. The mean exposure concentration is 16.6 $\pm $12.2 ppm (range 0.4-49.9ppm) in the styrene exposed workers. 2. The concentration of mandelic acid in urine collected at the end of shift from worker exposed 8 hours to 50ppm of styrene, based on extrapolation from correlation equations was 578.5 mg/g creatinine and 176.8 mg/g creatinine for next morning urine, the concentration of phenylglyoxylic acid in urine collected at the end of shift was 291.1 mg/g creatinine, 177.9 mg/g creatinine in next morning urine. In the sum of mandelic acid and phenylglyoxylic acid in the urine 870.2 mg/g creatinine in urine sampled at the end of shift corresponds to an exposure of 50ppm of styrene and 366.0 mg/g creatinine for next morning sample corresponds to 50ppm. 3. The correlation of the degree of exposed with sum concentration of mandeliacid and phenylglyoxylic acid in the urine was better(r=0.079 for end of shift, r=0.78 for next morning) than the correlation with single determinant measurement in urine(r=0.75 for mandelic acid at end of shift, r=0.73 for mandelic acid at next morning, r=0.69 for phenylglyoxylic acid at end of shift, r=0.62 for phenylglyoxylic acid at next morning). The monitoring of sum concentration of mandelic acid and phenylglyoxylic acid in urine is a valuable indicator of time weighted average daily exposure ti styrene. And the exposure standard of urinary metabolites produced by styrene should be set, in distinction urine at the end of shift from urine at next morning.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.235-244
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• 2007

By comparing the proteins from the workers exposed to styrene with the ones from controls, it may be possible to identify proteins that play a role in the occurrence and progress of occupational disease and thus to study the molecular mechanisms of occupational disease. In order to find the biomarkers for assessing the styrene effects early, before clinical symptoms develop and to understand the mechanisms of adverse health effects, we surveyed 134 employees, among whom 52 workers(30 male and 22 female) were chronically exposed to styrene in 10 glass-reinforced plastic boat manufacturing factories in Korea and 82 controls had never been occupationally exposed to hazardous chemicals including styrene. The age and drinking habits and serum biochemistry such as total protein, BUN and serum creatinine in both groups were significantly different. Exposed workers were divided into three groups according to exposure levels of styrene(G1, below 1/2 TLV; G2, 1/2 TLV to TLV; G3, above TLV). The mean concentration of airborne styrene in G1 group was $10.93{\pm}11.33ppm$, and those of urinary mandelic acid(MA) and phenylglyoxylic acid(PGA) were $0.17{\pm}0.21$ and $0.13{\pm}0.11g/g$ creatinine, respectively. The mean concentration of airborne styrene in G2 and G3 groups were $47.54{\pm}22.43$ and $65.33{\pm}33.47ppm$, respectively, and levels of urinary metabolites such as MA and PGA increased considerably as expected with the increase in exposure level of styrene. The airborne styrene concentration were significantly correlated to the urinary concentration of MA(r=0.784, p=0.000) and PGA(r=0.626, p<0.001). In the 2D electrophoresis, the concentration of five proteins including complement C3 precursor, alpha-1-antitrypsin(AAT), vitamin D binding protein precursor(DBP), alpha-1-B-glycoprotein(A1BG) and inter alpha trypsin inhibitor(ITI) heavy chain-related protein were significantly altered in workers exposed to styrene compared with controls. While expression of complement C3 precursor and AAT increased by exposure to styrene, expression of DBP, A1BG and ITI heavy chain-related protein decreased. These results suggest that the exposure of styrene might affects levels of plasma proteinase, carriers of endogenous substances and immune system. In particular, increasing of AAT with the increase in exposure level of styrene can explain the tissue damage and inflammation by the imbalance of proteinase/antiproteinase and decrease of DBP, A1BG and ITI heavy chain-related protein in workers exposed to styrene is associated with dysfunction and/or declination in immune system and signal transduction

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.1027-1033
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• 2005

The treatment of styrene vapor was carried out using the biofilter packed with loess/polyurethane composite during continuous operation of 74 days. The microorganisms were adapted within 2-3 days under the experimental conditions of inlet concentration and empty bed contact time (EBCT). At 200 sec of EBCT, the removal efficiency of styrene was 100\% with 200 ppmv of inlet concentration, while $92\%$ with 400 ppmv of inlet concentration. The biofilter showed the stable removal efficiencies of over $74\%$ under the EBCT range from 300 to 75 sec at the 150 ppmv of inlet styrene concentration. The maximum capacity of styrene removal for the biofilter packed with loess/polyurethane was $29g/m^3/hr$. During continuous operation of 74 days, pH of the drain water changed slightly and the pressure drop through the biofilter column was below $45\;mmH_2O/m$.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 2019

Background: This study was designed to provide logical backgrounds for the revision of biological exposure indices (BEIs) for styrene exposure in Korea. In order to investigate the correlation between airborne styrene and biological exposure indices, we measured urinary mandelic acid (MA) and phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA) in workers exposed to styrene occupationally, as well as airborne styrene at workplaces. Methods: Surveys were conducted for 56 subjects. The concentrations of airborne styrene and urinary metabolites of styrene were measured in 36 workers who were occupationally exposed to styrene, and in 20 controls. Air samples were collected using personal air samplers and analyzed by gas chromatography. Urine samples were collected at the end of the shift and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Results: The geometric mean concentration of airborne styrene was 9.6 ppm. The concentrations of urinary MA, PGA, and MA+PGA in the exposure group were 267.7, 143.3, and 416.8 mg/g creatinine, respectively. The correlation coefficients for correlation between airborne styrene and MA, PGA, and MA+PGA were 0.714, 0.604, and 0.769, respectively. The sum of urinary MA and PGA corresponding to an exposure of 20 ppm styrene was 603 mg/g creatinine. Conclusion: The correlation of the sum of urinary MA and PGA with airborne styrene was better than the correlation of each individual urinary determinant. It is considered appropriate to amend the concentration of urinary MA+PGA to 600 mg/g creatinine as a BEI, which corresponds to an airborne styrene concentration of 20 ppm in Korea.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.72-79
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• 2001

The selective catalytic oxidation of toxic aromatic solvents (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and styrene) and their mixtures were studied on a $Pt/{\;}{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ catalyst at temperature ranging from $160~350^{\circ}C$. The deep conversion of aromatic solvents was increased as the inlet concentration was decreased and the reaction temperature was increased. The reactivity increases in order benzene > toluene > ethylbenzene > styrene. In mixture, remarkable effects on reaction rate and selectivity have been evidence ; the strongest inhibition effect is shown by styrene and increase in a reverse order with respect to that of reactivity. The inhibition effect was increased in order styrene > ethylbenzene > toluzene > benzene. This trend is due to the competition adsorption between the two or three reactants on the oxidized catalyst. Also, the deep conversion change of benzene was a small in tertiary mixtures(including of benzene and styrene) comparing with conversion characteristics of binary mixture with styrene. This result was due to small concentration of styrene. which had very strong inhibition effect.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.669-675
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• 2012

Recently, there have been active researches regarding endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In this study, fifteen small freshwater streams in Cholla-namdo province, South Korea were investigated with respect to the concentration of the endocrine disruptors - Bisphenol A (BPA), styrene monomer (SM), styrene dimer (SD), and styrene trimer (ST) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Measured concentration of the target compounds in the sampled water ranged from

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.76-79
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• 1994

The concentration of styrne in blood of the occupationally syrene-exposed workers was checked by gas chromatographic headspace analysis. Mandelic acd in urine, that is a major metabolite of styrene, and hippuric acid wre also analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. For the biological monitoring of styrene-exposed workers, the routine method of the quantitative determination of styrene nad its metabolites in the biolgical samples were studied.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.397-402
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• 2005

Core-shell Poly(styrene-co-N-isopropylacrylamide) (poly(St-co-NIPAm) was prepared by soap-free emulsion polymerization of styrene (St) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) in aqueous solution with potassium persulfate (KPS) as an initiator. The effects of St/NIPAm ratio, concentrations of monomer and crosslinker were studied. Also, Thermo sensitivity of microgels prepared was investigated. Particle size of microgels increased with increasing mol ratio of NIPAm to styrene. Transmittance of the microgel dispersion decreased rapidly when heated above a low critical solution temperature (near $32{\sim}34^{\circ}C$, cloud point). Swelling ratio of the microgel increased with increasing of the concentration of monomer (NIPAm) and decreased proportional to the concentration of crosslinker.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.676-681
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• 2008

The $\pi$-complex membranes of poly(styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene) (SEBS) of two silver salts of $AgBF_4$ and $AgCF_3SO_3$ were prepared and tested for the separation of the propylene/propane mixtures. The Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra of these complexes showed that the silver salts were dissolved in SEBS up to a silver mole fraction of 0.14, due to $\pi$-complexation between the aromatic C=C bonds of styrene blocks and silver ions. Above this solubility limit, ion pairs and high-order ionic aggregates began to form, so that silver salts were distributed unselectively in both the EB and PS blocks. The domain size of the PS blocks was enlarged up to this critical concentration with increasing silver concentration without structural transitions, as confirmed by small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). These structural properties of the SEBS/silver salt complexes may explain the lower separation properties for propylene/propane mixtures compared to poly(styrene-b-butadiene-b-styrene)(SBS)/silver salt complex membranes.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.99-105
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• 2022

Styrene is the precursor of polystyrene. Human exposure to styrene could occur in occupational and residential settings and via food intake. Styrene is metabolized to styrene-7,8-oxide by cytochrome P450 enzyme. In the present study, we investigated the cytotoxicity mediated by styrene and styrene-7,8-oxide in TM3 testicular Leydig cells in vitro. We first monitored the nuclear fragmentation in Leydig cells after exposure to styrene or styrene-7,8-oxide. Hoechst 33258 cell staining showed that styrene exposure in TM3 Leydig cells did not exhibit nuclear fragmentation at any concentration. In contrast, nuclear fragmentation was seen in styrene-7,8-oxide-exposed cells. These results indicate that cytotoxicity-mediated cell death in Leydig cells is more susceptible to styrene-7,8-oxide than to styrene. Following styrene treatment, procaspase-3 and XIAP protein levels did not show significant changes, and cleaved (active) forms of caspase-3 were not detected. Consistent with the western blot results, the active forms of caspase-3 and XIAP proteins were not prominently altered in the cytoplasm of cells treated with styrene. In contrast to styrene, styrene-7,8-oxide induced cell death in an apoptotic fashion, as seen in caspase-3 activation and increased the expression of XIAP proteins. Taken together, the results obtained in this study demonstrate a fundamental idea that Leydig cells are capable of protecting themselves from cytotoxicity-mediated apoptosis as a result of styrene exposure in vitro. It remains unclear whether the steroid-producing function, i.e., steroidogenesis, of Leydig cells is also unaffected by exposure to styrene. Therefore, further studies are needed to elucidate the endocrine disrupting potential of styrene in Leydig cells.