Acute Exposure to Low-Level Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE): Human Reactions and Pharmacokinetic Response

AbstractThis two-part investigation assessed the effects of 1-h exposures to methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) at an ambient concentration of 1.7 ppm on healthy adults. In one part, four subjects participated in a pharmacokinetic study of blood levels of MTBE. Concentration in blood rose 20-fold from baseline to 17 μg/L by the end of exposure and declined to one-half that level at 40 min after exposure. In another part, 43 subjects participated in a double-blind study of reactions to exposures to MTBE (1.7 ppm), to a mixture of 17 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (7.1 ppm), and to air. Subjects rated symptoms (e.g., irritation, headache, mental fatigue), their mood, and various environmental attributes (e.g., odor, air quality, temperature), and also took computerized performance tests during exposures. Measures of eye irritation (e.g., tear-film breakup, eye redness) and nasal inflammation (i.e., measurement of polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocytes, PMNs) were taken before and after exposure as obj...

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