Coexposure to epichlorohydrin on the elimination of urinary metabolites of dimethylformamide

N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) is an important industrial organic solvent. It is a well-known hepatotoxicant (Lundberg et al. 1981, Wang et al. 1991). Its reproductive effect is also documented in literature (Ducatman et al. 1986, Levin et al. 1987). Due to its low vapor pressure and high lipid solubility, the major occupational exposure route is through skin and mucous membrane (Lauwerys et al. 1980). In the past, the major occupational exposure to DMF in Taiwan occurred in the synthetic leather industry (Wang et al. 1991). Recently, however, results of occupational environmental monitoring have revealed that the newly evolved multi-billion-dollar electronics industry also uses large volume of DMF. A direct-acting mutagen, epichlorohydrin (ECH, 1,2-epoxy-3-chloropropane), is also heavily used in the electronics industry. It is used in the production of epoxyresins and printed circuit board. In manufacturing of the latter, DMF is also used.