A study was conducted to measure the exposure of rubber and rayon workers to carbon-disulfide (75150) (CS2) using analysis of area and personal air samples for carbon-disulfide and urine samples for 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic-acid (444279) (TTCA). The subjects included 19 workers from a rubber product facility and in six workers from a viscose rayon factory. All but one breathing zone sample in the rayon factory exceeded the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL) of 1 part per million (ppm) CS2; no breathing zone samples in the rubber factory exceeded the NIOSH REL. Some areas in both plants exceeded 1ppm CS2. Workers in the rayon facility were exposed to a geometric mean lapel personal air concentration of 5.82ppm of CS2. TTCA levels were below the limit of detection in urine samples from all of the rubber workers. Urinary TTCA levels for spinners and cutters in the rayon factory suggested that they were exposed to equivalent carbon-disulfide levels in excess of the NIOSH REL although they wore halfmask cartridge respirators. Linear regression revealed that the log/log relationships between postshift TTCA versus workshift air carbon-disulfide and the increase in TTCA versus workshift air were significant. The contribution of different respiratory workplace protection factors to the urinary TTCA variations seen in the rayon workers was examined. The authors conclude that urinary TTCA levels, along with air monitoring, can be useful to determine the workplace protection factor afforded workers wearing respirators and to identify those workers not following safety and work practice recommendations.

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