Some chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents -- 1,1,1-trichloroethane, tricloroethylene and perchloroethylene -- have a common biotransformation product, trichloroacetic acid, which can be used as their biological exposure index. The spectrophotometric and gas chromatographic methods for the determination of trichloroacetic acid were studied and used as well as in its determination in the urine of workers exposed to 1,1,1-trichloroethane . Both methods showed good precision and no statistically significant difference was found although the gas cromatographic method presented a lower detection limit.
Trichloroacetic acid; Spectrophotometry; Chromatography