Comparison of trans, trans-muconic acid between groups of gas station attendants, with and without skin contact with fuel oil in Rayong province
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/dcj.2021.61Keywords:
trans, trans-muconic acid, Contacts of fuel oil on skin, Gas station attendantsAbstract
This cross-sectional deceptive study aimed to compare urinary trans, trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA), a metabolite of benzene, between groups of gas station attendants, with and without skin contact with fuel oil. A total of 64 workers in 5 gas stations in Rayong province were randomly selected by cluster sampling. The research tools consisted of interview form and pre- and post- shifts urine collection. The urinary t,t-MA concentration of the biological samples were analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The data were analyzed by the descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics including number, percentage, geometrical mean, standard deviation, median, quartile range, and Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that most of the gas station attendants (73.4 percent) did not wear personal respiratory protection equipment whereas 26.6 percent of gas station attendants wore the cotton masks. Of those wearing the cotton masks, 14.1 percent wore the cotton masks all the time. In the past 1 week, the percentage of the gas station attendants who had contacted fuel oil with skin, hands, and arms accidentally were 64.1 percent, 60.9 percent and 17.2 percent, respectively. The incidents of direct contact with fuel oil occurred every day for 18.7 percent. In terms of personal hygiene, it was found that the 39.1 percent washed their skin with water and the 23.4 percent wiped their skin without water. The comparison results of urinary t,t-MA between 2 groups, with and without skin contact with fuel oil, showed that the group of those having skin contact with fuel oil had a median (quartile range) of t, t-MA at 87.83 (87.13) µg/g Cr which was significantly higher than the group of those who had no directly contact. (t, t-MA of 55.47 (31.26) µg/g Cr) (p<0.05). In conclusion, benzene could penetrate through the skin of the employees who had skin contact with fuel oil. Therefore, the personal respiratory protection equipment accompanied with the arm protection equipment should be promoted to be used for the gas station attendants’ health protection.
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