Assessment of Exposure of Workers and Swimmers to Trihalomethanes in an Indoor Swimming Pool

A simultaneous study on workers' and swimmers' exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs) in an indoor swimming pool has been carried out by analyzing urine samples using the headspace and gas chromatography−mass spectrometry technique. The subjects of this study were male and female workers of an indoor swimming pool as well as swimmers regularly attending the pool. The results reported show that only chloroform and bromodichloromethane were detected in the urine of those people exposed, which can be used as a specific index of exposure to these compounds. THM uptake of swimmers after 1 h of swimming was higher than that of workers after a 4 h work shift since THM levels in the workers' urine were associated only with inhalation, while levels in swimmers' urine were mainly associated with dermal absorption, apart from inhalation and occasional ingestion, as well as increased uptake due to the physical stress (swimming). The kinetics of THM excretion in the urine of the participants exposed has been calculated af...