Air, hand wipe, and surface wipe sampling for Bisphenol A (BPA) among workers in industries that manufacture and use BPA in the United States

Abstract

For decades, bisphenol A (BPA) has been used in making polycarbonate, epoxy, and phenolic resins and certain investment casting waxes, yet published exposure data are lacking for U.S. manufacturing workers. In 2013-2014, BPA air and hand exposures were quantified for 78 workers at six U.S. companies making BPA or BPA-based products. Exposure measures included an inhalable-fraction personal air sample on each of two consecutive work days (n = 146), pre- and end-shift hand wipe samples on the second day (n = 74 each), and surface wipe samples (n = 88). Potential determinants of BPA air and end-shift hand exposures (after natural log transformation) were assessed in univariate and multiple regression mixed models. The geometric mean (GM) BPA air concentration was 4.0 µg/m³ (maximum 920 µg/m³). The end-shift GM BPA hand level (26 µg/sample) was 10-times higher than the pre-shift level (2.6 µg/sample). BPA air and hand exposures differed significantly by industry and job. BPA air concentrations and end-shift hand levels were highest in the BPA-filled wax manufacturing/reclaim industry (GM_Air = 48 µg/m³, GM_Hand-End = 130 µg/sample) and in the job of working with molten BPA-filled wax (GM_Air = 43 µg/m³, GM_Hand-End = 180 µg/sample), and lowest in the phenolic resins industry (GM_Air = 0.85 µg/m³, GM_Hand-End = 0.43 µg/sample) and in the job of flaking phenolic resins (GM_AIR = 0.62 µg/m³, GM_Hand-End = 0.38 µg/sample). Determinants of increased BPA air concentration were industry, handling BPA containers, spilling BPA, and spending ≥50% of the shift in production areas; increasing age was associated with lower air concentrations. BPA hand exposure determinants were influenced by high values for two workers; for all other workers, tasks involving contact with BPA-containing materials and spending ≥50% of the shift in production areas were associated with increased BPA hand levels. Surface wipe BPA levels were significantly lower in eating/office areas (GM = 9.3 µg/100 cm²) than in production areas (GM = 140 µg/100 cm²). In conclusion, worker BPA exposure was associated with tasks and conditions affecting both inhalation and dermal exposure. The potential for BPA-related health effects among these workers is unknown.

Keywords: Endocrine disruption; exposure assessment; exposure determinants; occupational.