A new personal monitoring device for the detection of beta-propiolactone and other alkylating agents.

A personal monitoring badge has been developed for the detection of the direct-acting, alkylating carcinogen beta-propiolactone at atmospheric concentrations as low as 6 ppb for 24-hour and 0.6 ppm for 0.25-hour exposure. The method employs the trapping reagent p-nitrobenzyl pyridine (p-NBP) absorbed on a cellulose thin-layer chromatography (TLC) strip. Deoxyguanosine can be used in place of p-NBP, but its lower limit of detection is 60 ppb for 24-hour exposure. The authors also obtained positive results with the carcinogens bis (chloromethyl) ether, chloromethyl methyl ether, diepoxybutane, dimethylcarbamoyl chloride, ethyleneimine, and glycidaldehyde. In practice, the TLC strip is positioned in a filmbadge holder. The TLC strip monitoring badges are easy to prepare; they should encounter no resistance of personnel to their use since they are not cumbersome. Monitoring at the end of an exposure is simple and requires no expensive equipment or specialized personnel.