Addendum to Tetrachloroethylene
Assessment Values in Biological Material – Translation of the German version from 2018
Hermann Maximilian Bolt1Hans Drexler2
Andrea Hartwig3
MAK Commission4
1 Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, TU Dortmund, Ardeystraße 67, 44139 Dortmund, Germany
2 Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Henkestraße 9–11, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
3 Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Building 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
4 Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany
Abstract
In 2017, the German Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has re‐evaluated tetrachloroethylene [127‐18‐4], considering tetrachloroethylene in blood to characterize the internal exposure at the workplace. Available publications are described in detail.
The exposure equivalents for carcinogenic substances (EKA) of inhaled tetrachloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in blood were confirmed and extended by recent data. The evaluation of the BAT value was based on the relationship between tetrachloroethylene uptake by inhalation at the MAK value and the corresponding concentration of tetrachloroethylene in blood. An eight‐hour exposure at the present MAK value of 10 ml tetrachloroethylene/m3 correlates, 16 hours after exposure, with a mean tetrachloroethylene concentration in blood of approximately 200 µg/l. Hence, a BAT value of 200 µg tetrachloroethylene/l blood was evaluated. Sampling time is 16 hours after exposure.
