Uptake of solvents in the blood and tissues of man. A review

Abstract

The various effects on man of a solvent present in the inspiratory air depend on a number of more or less mutually dependent factors. The following factors are the most important: (a) pulmonary ventilation and blood circulation and therefore the intensity of physical work, (b) solubility in blood, (c) solubility in tissues, and (d) toxicity of the substance or its metabolites. Thus, it is important to measure and evaluate the following (a) Uptake in the lungs. This can be estimated from the pulmonary ventilation and the ratio between the concentration in alveolar air and inspiratory air. (b) Solubility in blood and tissues. The amount of fat and the quality of the fat in the respective tissues are of decisive importance to uptake, but there is a great lack of reliable data on this subject. (c) The effect of a given dose/concentration on, e.g., the nervous system. The effect can be assessed by measuring psychomotor and cognitive functions. The preceding conclusions were derived from experiments with seven different substances. The solvents can be ranked with regard to the percentage of uptake and therefore to the solubility in blood and tissues accordingly (largest uptake first and smallest uptake last): styrene, the aromatic components of white spirit, toluene, trichloroethylene, th aliphatic components of white spirit, methylene chloride, and methylchloroform.