This paper sets out to explore the requirements needed to recommend a useable and reliable biomonitoring system for occupational exposure to copper and its inorganic compounds. Whilst workplace environmental monitoring of copper is used to measure ambient air concentrations for comparison against occupational exposure limits, biological monitoring could provide complementary information about the internal dose of workers, taking into account intra-individual variability and exposure from all routes. For biomonitoring to be of reliable use for copper, a biomarker and the analytical ability to measure it with sufficient sensitivity must be identified and this is discussed in a range of matrices. In addition, there needs to be a clear understanding of the dose-response relationship of the biomarker with any health-effect (clinical or sub-clinical) or, between the level of external exposure (by any route) and the level of the copper biomarker in the biological matrix being sampled, together with a knowledge of the half-life in the body to determine accurate sampling times. For many biologically non-essential metals the requirements for reliable biomarkers can be met, however, for ‘essential’ metals such as copper that are under homeostatic control, the relationship between exposure (short- or long-term) and the level of any copper biomarker in the blood or urine is complex, which may limit the use and interpretation of measured levels. There are a number of types of biomarker guidance values currently in use which are discussed in this paper, but no values have yet been determined for copper (or its inorganic compounds) due to the complexity of its essential nature; the US The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has however indicated that it is considering the development of a biological exposure index for copper and its compounds. In light of this, we present a review of the reliability of current copper biomarkers and their potential use in the occupational context to evaluate whether there is value in carrying out human biomonitoring for copper exposure. Based on the available evidence we have concluded that the reliable use of biomonitoring of occupational exposure to copper and its application in risk assessment is not possible at the present time.

中文翻译：

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目前无法解释工作场所铜及其化合物暴露的生物监测

本文旨在探讨推荐适用于铜及其无机化合物职业暴露的可用且可靠的生物监测系统所需的要求。虽然工作场所的铜环境监测用于测量环境空气浓度，以便与职业暴露限值进行比较，但生物监测可以提供有关工人内部剂量的补充信息，同时考虑到个体内部变异性和所有途径的暴露。为了使生物监测能够可靠地用于铜，必须确定生物标志物和以足够的灵敏度测量它的分析能力，并且这在一系列基质中进行了讨论。此外，需要清楚地了解生物标志物与任何健康影响（临床或亚临床）的剂量反应关系，或者外部暴露水平（通过任何途径）与铜水平之间的剂量反应关系。被采样的生物基质中的生物标志物，以及体内半衰期的知识，以确定准确的采样时间。对于许多生物非必需金属，可以满足可靠生物标志物的要求，但是，对于处于稳态控制下的“必需”金属（例如铜），暴露（短期或长期）与任何铜水平之间的关系血液或尿液中的生物标志物很复杂，这可能会限制测量水平的使用和解释。目前使用的生物标志物指导值有多种类型，本文对此进行了讨论，但由于其基本性质的复杂性，尚未确定铜（或其无机化合物）的值；美国 然而，美国政府工业卫生学家会议 (ACGIH) 表示正在考虑制定铜及其化合物的生物暴露指数。有鉴于此，我们对当前铜生物标志物的可靠性及其在职业环境中的潜在用途进行了回顾，以评估对铜暴露进行人体生物监测是否有价值。根据现有证据，我们得出的结论是，目前不可能可靠地使用铜职业接触生物监测及其在风险评估中的应用。