Study of Styrene Exposure Levels in Individuals Affected by a Fire at a Furniture Factory in Bangkok

Abstract

A fire at a furniture factory generated air pollution that could affect response personnel and residents in the surrounding area. This study aimed to assess styrene exposure after the fire by measuring airborne styrene and urinary mandelic acid plus phenylglyoxylic acid (MA+PGA) levels, and to examine the association between distance from the fire site and urinary MA+PGA levels. This analytical cross-sectional study collected urine samples from 101 participants within 24 hours after the incident, of whom 94 had interpretable MA+PGA results; 27 of these participants underwent repeat testing two months later. Air-quality monitoring and health interviews were also conducted. Airborne styrene was detected during the early phase of the incident but was not detected during subsequent monitoring. Among the 94 participants with interpretable results within 24 hours, 48 (51.06%) had MA+PGA concentrations ≥150 mg/g Cr. Among the 27 participants with results available at both time points, the median MA+PGA concentration decreased from 327.27 mg/g Cr (IQR: 233.76–518.36) to 12.60 mg/g Cr (IQR: 2.50–119.23), representing a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). Participants located <300 m and ≥300 m from the fire site had median MA+PGA concentrations of 188.11 and 108.39 mg/g Cr, respectively, with no statistically significant difference between the groups (p = 0.799). These findings suggest that urinary MA+PGA testing may provide supplementary information for individual exposure assessment when used alongside airborne styrene monitoring and post-fire health surveillance.