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  • Urinary excretion half life of trichloroacetic acid as a biomarker of exposure to chlorinated drinking water disinfection by-products

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Urinary excretion half life of trichloroacetic acid as a biomarker of exposure to chlorinated drinking water disinfection by-products
  1. E L Bader,
  2. S E Hrudey,
  3. K L Froese
  1. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, 10–102 Clinical Sciences Bldg, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G3, Canada
  1. Correspondence to:
 Prof. S E Hrudey
 Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, 10–102 Clinical Sciences Bldg, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G3, Canada; steve.hrudeyualberta.ca

Abstract

Aims: To measure accurately urinary elimination half life of trichloroacetic acid (TCAA).

Methods: A longitudinal pilot exposure/intervention study measured the elimination half life of TCAA in urine. Beverage consumption was limited to a public water supply and bottled water of known TCAA concentration, and ingestion volume was managed. The five participants limited fluid consumption to only the water provided. Consumption journals were kept by each participant and their daily first morning urine (FMU) samples were analysed for TCAA and creatinine. TCAA elimination half life curves were generated from a two week washout period using TCAA-free bottled water.

Results: Individual elimination half lives ranged from 2.1 to 6.3 days, for single compartment exponential decay, the model which fit the data.

Conclusion: Urinary TCAA is persistent enough to be viable as a biomarker of medium term (days) exposure to drinking water TCAA ingestion within a range of realistic concentrations.

  • DBPs, drinking water chlorinated disinfection by-products
  • FMU, first morning urine void
  • HAA, halogenated (chloro- and bromo-) acetic acid
  • SPME, solid phase microextraction
  • TCAA, trichloroacetic acid
  • THM, trihalomethanes
  • exposure assessment
  • chlorinated disinfection by-products
  • drinking water

https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2003.008698

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    Footnotes

    • Financial support was from: the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council—a postgraduate scholarship to Erin Bader and Strategic Grant No. 215854-98; and Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and Alberta Health and Wellness.