Ethylene oxide – Addendum: re-evaluation of the EKA
Assessment Values in Biological Material – Translation of the German version from 2024
Elisabeth Eckert1Michael Bader3
Hans Drexler1 (Head of the working group “Assessment Values in Biological Material” of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
Andrea Hartwig4 (Chair of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
MAK Commission5
1 Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Henkestraße 9–11, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
2 Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit, Eggenreuther Weg 43, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
3 BASF SE, Corporate Health Management, Carl-Bosch-Straße 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
4 Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Building 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
5 Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany
Abstract
The German Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area (MAK Commission) summarised and re-evaluated the data for the exposure equivalents for carcinogenic substances (EKA) of ethylene oxide [75-21-8]. Relevant studies were identified from a literature search. Based on the available studies on the correlation between external and internal exposure of ethylene oxide in the air and of its haemoglobin adduct N-(2-hydroxyethyl)valine (HEV), the EKA were confirmed and extended to a lower exposure range using linear extrapolation. Additionally, the adduct concentrations were converted into the internationally common unit [pmol/g globin]. Sampling time is after at least 3 months of exposure.
