[Analysis of the methods of evaluation of occupational exposure to benzene and phenol of petrochemical industry workers]. / Analiza metod oceny narazenia zawodowego na benzen i fenol pracowników przemyslu petrochemicznego.

209 workers exposed to airborne benzene and phenol at the Mazovian Refining Petrochemical Works, at three different plants, i.e. of Phenol, Gasoline Composing and Water -- Wastes, have been examined. It has been demonstrated that urine phenol content in workers working in an open plant area is very often inadequate to the airborne time-weighted averaged concentration of benzene and phenol. It has been shown more advisable to determine urine phenol concentrations twice: before and after the work shift. At the same time some specific methods have been recommended for determining phenol concentrations in urine. These are: gas chromatographic method of Dirmikis and Darbre, modified in this laboratory, and Gibbs' colorimetric method modified by Bardodej with 4-amino-antipyrine or Gibbs' colorimetric method with 2,6-dibromoquinone-4-chloroimide modified by Hanke et al. The Theis-Benedict method should not be applied in medical analytical laboratory because of its low specificity to phenol.