Presentation of Industrial Toxicology Laboratory of Petróleos Mexicanos

The Laboratory began to work and produced its first results in 2006. It is mainly oriented to implement Biological Monitoring of Chemical Occupational Exposure.  Its first phase was performed the biomonitoring related to Volatile Organic Compounds such as: Benzene, Toluene, Xylene, Styrene and Ethylbenzene.   We started, respectively, with the following biomarkers: phenols, hippuric acid, methylhippuric acid, mandelic acid and phenylglyoxilic acid. At this moment, we are not using phenols anymore for its low specificity and sensitivity and now we are measuring Phenylmercapturic Acid with Mass Spectrometry - Gas Chromatography.  In the second phase, we are now validating the biomarkers of some very well-known chemical carcinogens such as Vinyl Chloride with its biomarker thiodyglicolic acid. We have already the major equipment to analyze other metabolites of other potential carcinogens that we produce and handle in our petrochemical plants, such as Ethylene Oxide and Acrylonitrile. Related to our oil refineries we are now implementing the method to measure the main metabolite of pyrene, that is to say, 1-Hidroxypyrene, to measure the exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; and urinary fluorides, metabolites of Hydrogen Fluoride, in the workers of the alkylation plants.    Till now, our results of the first phase, demonstrate that 98% of our workers population is below the most strict reference values of Biological Exposure Indices of the Volatile Organic Compounds described above.  There is a need to move forward in the practice of Biological Monitoring to all the workers and enter into a third phase and measure the occupational exposure to metals and metalloids in the activities of welding, cutting metal and in the use of metal based paints and metal based catalysts.  Besides, Mexican official standards need to be updated in order to be aligned with the scientific progress in Biological Monitoring of Occupational Chemical Exposure.