Andrew Best
Business Development - Laboratories
UKAS accredited isocyanate analysis
Isocyanates, as a chemical group, are the biggest cause of occupational asthma in the UK. Monitoring of airborne exposures to total isocyanate is costly and cannot assess the effectiveness of protection from exposure. Biological monitoring by analysis of metabolites in urine can be a relatively simple and inexpensive way to assess exposure to isocyanates.
Isocyanate use
Isocyanates are a family of highly reactive, low molecular weight chemicals. They are widely used in the manufacture of flexible and rigid foams, fibres, coatings such as paints and varnishes and are increasingly used in the automobile industry, auto-body repair, construction industry and the manufacture of insulation materials.
Spray-on polyurethane products containing isocyanates have been developed for a wide range of retail, commercial, and industrial uses to protect cement, wood, fibreglass, steel and aluminium, including protective coatings for truck beds, trailers, boats, foundations and decks.
Common uses in the construction industry are in floor paints, floor screeds, flooring adhesives as well as in expanding foams, mastics and rapid bonding adhesives used across the various trades.
Common Isocyanates
The most commonly used isocyanates include methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI).
Biological analysis
In humans, isocyanates are rapidly metabolised and excreted in the urine as the corresponding diamine. Thus, biological monitoring using pre and post shift urine samples is a useful tool in determining potential exposure.
In the UK the current Biological Monitoring Guidance Value (BMGV) is set at 1μmol isocyanate-derived diamine/mol creatinine.
You can find the ECHA Biological Monitoring Guidance for diisocyanates here.
RPS offer a UKAS accredited rapid GC-MS method for the determination of all five isocyanate derived diamines (isocyanate metabolites) to meet the Biological Monitoring Guidance Values (BMGV) as follows:
- 1 μmol 2,4 Diaminotoluene 2,4-TDA (2,4-TDI Biomarker) /mol of creatinine
- 1 μmol 2,6 Diaminotoluene 2,6-TDA (2,6-TDI Biomarker) /mol of creatinine
- 1 μmol Hexamethylenediamine HDA (1,6-HDI Biomarker) /mol of creatinine
- 1 μmol 5-Amino-1,3,3-trimethylcyclohexanemethylamine IPDA (IPDI Biomarker) /mol of creatinine
- 1 μmol 4,4 Diaminodiphenylmethane MDA (MDI Biomarker) /mol of creatinine
Media
For biological monitoring (urine) - Provision of 30ml sample container with stabiliser and prepaid postal return envelope with Category B compliant packaging.
- For air monitoring – Provision of piperazine treated filters
- Soil and water – provision of sampling containers
Holding times
- Urine - 2 days at room temperature and 3 months frozen
- Filters – 27 days from sampling
- Soil and water – 7 days refrigerated with no-headspace
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