Assessment of Arsenic Exposure by Measurement of Urinary Speciated Inorganic Arsenic Metabolites in Workers in a Semiconductor Manufacturing Plant

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the exposure to arsenic in preventive maintenance (PM) engineers in a semiconductor industry by detecting speciated inorganic arsenic metabolites in the urine. METHODS: The exposed group included 8 PM engineers from the clean process area and 13 PM engineers from the ion implantation process area; the non-exposed group consisted of 14 office workers from another company who were not occupationally exposed to arsenic. A spot urine specimen was collected from each participant for the detection and measurement of speciated inorganic arsenic metabolites. Metabolites were separated by high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma spectrometry-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Urinary arsenic metabolite concentrations were 1.73 g/L, 0.76 g/L, 3.45 g/L, 43.65 g/L, and 51.32 g/L for trivalent arsenic (As(3+)), pentavalent arsenic (As(5+)), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), and total inorganic arsenic metabolites (As(3+) + As(5+) + MMA + DMA), respectively, in clean process PM engineers. In ion implantation process PM engineers, the concentrations were 1.74 g/L, 0.39 g/L, 3.08 g/L, 23.17 g/L, 28.92 g/L for As(3+), As(5+), MMA, DMA, and total inorganic arsenic metabolites, respectively. Levels of urinary As(3+), As(5+), MMA, and total inorganic arsenic metabolites in clean process PM engineers were significantly higher than that in the non-exposed group. Urinary As(3+) and As(5+) levels in ion implantation process PM engineers were significantly higher than that in non-exposed group. CONCLUSION: Levels of urinary arsenic metabolites in PM engineers from the clean process and ion implantation process areas were higher than that in office workers. For a complete assessment of arsenic exposure in the semiconductor industry, further studies are needed.