Evaluation of Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate as an Indoor Air Pollutant and Biological Assessment of Methylene Dianiline in the Polyurethane Factories

Today many raw materials used in factories may have a dangerous effect on the physiological system of workers. One of them, which is widely used in the polyurethane factories, is diisocyanates. These compounds are widely used in surface coatings, polyurethane foams, adhesives, resins, elastomers, binders, and sealants. Exposure to diisocyanates causes irritation to the skin, mucous membranes, eyes, and respiratory tract. Methylene dianiline (MDA) is a metabolite of methylene diphenyle diisocyanate (MDI), an excretory material of worker′s urine who are exposed to MDI. Around 100 air samples were collected among five factories by the Midget Impinger, which contained DMSO absorbent as a solvent and Tryptamine as a reagent. Samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with an ECUV detector using the NIOSH 5522 method of sampling and analysis. Also, fifty urine samples were collected from workers by using William′s biological analysis method. The concentration of MDI in all air samples was more than 88 µg/m³, showing a high concentration of the pollutant in the workplaces in comparison with the NIOSH standard, and all the worker′s urine was contaminated by MDA. The correlation and regression tests were used to obtain statistical model for MDI and MDA that is useful for prediction of diisocyanates pollution situation in the polyurethane factories.

Keywords
Air pollution, diisocyanates, polyurethane factories, sampling and analysis, statistical model