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Biological monitoring of midwives' exposure to N2O using the Bio-VOC breath sampler

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 12, pages 309–312 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

The use of exhaled breath as a biological monitoring tool is still not widely used. Although there are now commercially available kits, there are limited data on biological guidance values for all but a few substances for breath monitoring. The study investigated the possibility of using an indirect breath sampler to measure the levels of nitrous oxide in the exhaled breath of midwives at a midpoint during their shift. Levels of nitrous oxide in the exhaled breath were measured at (0–727 ppm) with a mean level of 64 ppm. The correlation between the established personal environmental monitoring and exhaled breath monitoring was generally poor as was the correlation between duration of nitrous oxide exposure and levels in the exhaled breath. Clearly the use of exhaled breath as a tool for biological monitoring is more appropriate than other invasive procedures. The breath sampler used has been a readily acceptable tool for occupational hygiene monitoring in a busy hospital ward.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their thanks to the midwives who participated in this study, to Markes International which supplied the monitoring equipment and to H.S.L. who performed the analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health, Safety and Environment Unit, University of Wales College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK

    K A HENDERSON

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Public Health and Statistics, University of Wales College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK

    I P MATTHEWS

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  1. K A HENDERSON
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  2. I P MATTHEWS
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Correspondence to I P MATTHEWS.

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HENDERSON, K., MATTHEWS, I. Biological monitoring of midwives' exposure to N2O using the Bio-VOC breath sampler. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 12, 309–312 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500231

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