Evaluating Exposure

The following references provide information on evaluating occupational exposures to styrene.

• Kolstad HA, Sonderskoy, J et. al. Company-level, semi-quantitative assessment of occupational styrene exposure when individual data are not available. Annals of Occupational Hygiene. 2005 Mar;49(2):155-65.
• Liljelind I, Rappaport S, et al. Exposure assessment of monoterpenes and styrene: a comparison of air sampling and biomonitoring. Occupational Environmental Medicine. 2003 Aug;60(8):599-603. Presents findings on styrene exposure measurement variability among sawmill workers and reinforced plastics workers, using both personal air samplers and biological monitoring. Results suggest, "personal air samplers provide data with similar or superior quality to urinary metabolites as measures of exposure to these monoterpenes in sawmills and styrene in reinforced plastics factories."
• Liljelind IE, et al. Comparison of self-assessment and expert assessment of occupational exposure to chemicals. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2001 Oct;27(5):311-7.

Sampling and Analysis

OSHA

• OSHA Occupational Chemical Database. OSHA's premier one-stop shop for occupational chemical information. It compiles information from several government agencies and organizations. Information available on the pages includes chemical identification and physical properties, exposure limits, sampling information, and additional resources.
  • Styrene

For additional information, see OSHA's Sampling and Analysis Safety and Health Topics Page.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

• NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM). NMAM is a collection of methods for sampling and analysis of contaminants in workplace air, and in the blood and urine of workers who are occupationally exposed. NMAM also includes chapters on quality assurance, sampling, portable instrumentation, etc.
  • Hydrocarbons, Aromatic. Method No. 1501, (March 15, 2003). Provides a method for peak, ceiling, and time weighted average determinations of aromatic hydrocarbons.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Determination of Styrene in Latex Styrene-Butadiene Rubber, Through Gas Chromatography. Method No. 312A. Describes a procedure for determining parts per million (ppm) styrene monomer (CAS No. 100-42-5) in aqueous samples, including latex samples and styrene stripper water.
• Determination of Residual Styrene in Styrene-Butadiene (SBR) Rubber Latex by Capillary Gas Chromatography. Method No. 312B. Applicable to SBR latex solutions and quantitatively determines residual styrene concentrations in SBR latex solutions at levels from 80 to 1200 parts per million (ppm).
• Determination of Residual Styrene in SBR Latex Produced by Emulsion Polymerization. Method No. 312C. Applicable for determining the amount of residual styrene in styrene-butadiene (SBR) rubber latex as produced in the emulsion polymerization process.