[Spectrophotometric and gas chromatographic analysis of trichloroacetic acid in urine]. / Determinação espectrofotométrica e cromatográfica em fase gasosa de ácido tricloracético em urina.

Some chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents--1,1,1-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene--have a common biotransformation product, trichloroacetic acid, which can be used as their biological exposure index. The spectrophotometric and gas chromatographic methods for the determination of trichloroacetic acid were studied and used as well as in its determination in the urine of workers exposed to 1,1,1-trichloroethane. Both methods showed good precision and no statistically significant difference was found although the gas chromatographic method presented a lower detection limit.

[Glue solvents: abuse and adverse effects on health]. / Solventes de cola: abuso e efeitos nocivos à saúde.

In Brazil, glue sniffing has been of growing concern due to the increasing number of abusers, most of them children and teen-agers of low socio-economic level. This review article presents some aspects of this kind of abuse, with special emphasis on the deleterious effects of acute and/or chronic solvent inhalation (glue-sniffing).