[Application of high-pressure liquid chromatography in the analysis of urinary metabolites of aromatic solvents].

The introduction of HPLC methods in industrial toxicology represents a valuable tool for the routine monitoring of workers occupationally exposed to aromatic solvents. The HPLC method described here permits the simultaneous determination of metabolites of ethylbenzene, styrene, toluene, xylene isomers, benzene, phenol and cresol isomers in diluted urine samples. Pretreatment of urine samples with steam distillation is necessary only for determination of phenol and cresols because of their low concentrations. A comparison between a GLC and the HPLC procedure for mandelic and phenylglyoxylic acids confirmed the satisfactory performance of the HPLC method.