Copper and its inorganic compounds
Assessment Values in Biological Material – Translation of the German version from 2017
Stephan Letzel1Bernd Roßbach1
Hans Drexler2 (Head of the working group “Assessment Values in Biological Material” of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
Andrea Hartwig3 (Chair of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
MAK Commission4
1 Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Straße 67, 55131 Mainz, Germany
2 Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Henkestraße 9–11, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
3 Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Building 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
4 Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany
Abstract
The German Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has evaluated copper (CAS No 7440‐50‐8) in 2016.
Due to the homeostatic regulation of copper there is no correlation between copper exposure in air and copper in blood or urine. Neither increased inhalation exposure higher than the MAK value of 0.01 mg copper/m3 nor increased oral supply lead to an increase of copper in blood or urine, even if first signs of exposure such as increased C‐reactive protein (CRP) are observed. An additional occupational burden cannot be differentiated from physiological levels of copper. Therefore, the evaluation of a biological tolerance value (BAT value) and a biological reference value (“Biologischer Arbeitsstoff‐Referenzwert” (BAR)) for copper and its inorganic compounds is not indicated.
