Table 3.
Occupational limit values and reference values for the general population for urinary metals proposed by different organizations. The percentage of samples of study workers exceeding the biological values is shown.
| Metal | Biomarker | Organization | Sampling Time | Biological Value | Value | % of Samples Above the Biological Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanadium and its inorganic compounds including vanadium pentaoxide | urinary V | DFG | End of exposure, for long-term exposures: at the end of the shift after several shifts | EKA | Air (mg/m3) | Biomarker (µg/g creatinine) | |
| 0.025 | 35 | 0 | |||||
| 0.050 | 70 | 0 | |||||
| 0.100 | 140 | 0 | |||||
| SIVR | - | SIVR | 0.0250–0.855 µg/L | 48 | |||
| Chromium (VI), water soluble fume | urinary Cr | ACGIH | End of shift at end of workweek | BEI | 25 µg/L | 0 | |
| Increase during shift | BEI | 10 µg/L | 2 | ||||
| Chromium and its compounds | DFG | End of shift | BAR | 0.6 µg/L | 63 | ||
| SIVR | - | SIVR | 0.050–0.60 µg/L | 63 | |||
| Manganese | urinary Mn | SIVR | - | SIVR | 0.040–1.5 µg/L | 15 | |
| Cobalt and its compounds | urinary Co | ACGIH | End of shift at end of workweek | BEI | 15 µg/L | 1 | |
| DFG | End of exposure, for long term exposure | EKA | Air (mg/m3) | Biomarker (µg/L) | |||
| 0.010 | 6 | 0 | |||||
| 0.025 | 15 | 0 | |||||
| 0.050 | 30 | 1 | |||||
| 0.100 | 60 | 0 | |||||
| 0.500 | 300 | 0 | |||||
| BLW | 35 | 0 | |||||
| BAR | 1.5 | 7 | |||||
| SIVR | - | SIVR | 0.077–2.2 | 3 | |||
| Nickel (nickel metal, oxide, carbonate, sulfide, sulfidic ores) | urinary Ni | DFG | For long-term exposures: at the end of the shift after several shifts | EKA | Air (mg/m3) | Biomarker (µg/L) | |
| 0.10 | 15 | 0 | |||||
| 0.30 | 30 | 0 | |||||
| Nickel and its compounds | 0.50 | 45 | 0 | ||||
| For long-term exposures: at the end of the shift after several shifts | BAR | 3 µg/L | 42 | ||||
| SIVR | - | SIVR | 0.372–4.44 µg/L | 19 | |||
| Copper and its inorganic compounds | urinary Cu | DFG | - | BAT | NA | ||
| - | BAR | NA | |||||
| SIVR | - | SIVR | 5.01–24.0 µg/L | 52 | |||
| Zinc | urinary Zn | SIVR | - | LVR | ND-1048 µg/L | 40 | |
| Cadmium and its inorganic compounds | urinary Cd | ACGIH | Not critical | BEI | 5 µg/g creatinine | 3 | |
| ECHA | Not critical | BLV | 2 µg/g creatinine | 14 | |||
| DFG | Not fixed | BLW | NA | ||||
| Not fixed | BAR (NS) | 0.8 µg/L | 73 | ||||
| SIVR | - | SIVR | 0.100–0.900 µg/L | 69 | |||
| Barium compounds, soluble | urinary Ba | DFG | End of shift/ for long-term exposures: at the end of the shift after several shifts | BAR | 10 µg/L | 14 | |
| SIVR | - | LVR | ND-6.97 µg/L | 24 | |||
| Thallium | urinary Tl | SIVR | - | SIVR | 0.0600–0.759 µg/L | 15 | |
| Lead | urinary Pb | SIVR | - | SIVR | 1.170–2.94 µg/L | 72 | |
ACGIH = American Conference for Governmental industrial Hygiene; DFG = German Research Association (Deutsche Forschung Gemeinschaft); ECHA = European Chemicals Agency; SIVR = Italian Society for Reference Value. BAR = biological reference values for workplace substances; BAT = biological tolerance values (Biologische Arbeitsstoff-Toleranzwerte); BEI = Biological Exposure Index; BLV = biological limit values; BLW = biological guidance value (Biologische Leit-Werte); EKA = exposure equivalents for carcinogenic substances (Expositionsäquivalente für krebserzeugende Arbeitsstoffe); LVR = literature reference value; ND = not determined; NS = nonsmokers; NA = insufficient data for the derivation of a value.