Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed when organic matters incompletely combust and get distributed into the air in the form of vapor or the particular phase of absorption or condensation on the surface of respirable particles. Certain PAHs are considered as carcinogenic and mutagenic, and are primarily associated with the particulate phase. Therefore, the characterization of exposure to particle-bound PAHs (p-PAHs) is critical to assessing the health risks in our daily life. A panel study was conducted during the years 2004 and 2005 to assess microenvironmental exposures to p-PAHs for elementary school children living in Taipei metropolitan area. During the study, integrated filter samples were collected by a dust monitor (model 1.108, Grimm) for 17 p-PAH species analysis using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The sampling durations were five days. Overall, 52 samples for children’s microenvironmental exposures were included in the data analysis. Results showed that geometric mean (GM) levels (and geometric standard deviation) of p-PAH exposures were 4.443 (3.395) ng/m3 for children. The top three highest proportions of p-PAH components were indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (IND) (21.7%), benzo[g,h,i]perylene (BghiP) (18.5%), and dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DBA) (9.1%), all of which are 5- or 6-ring p-PAHs. In addition, results from diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis (PCA) found that traffic pollution, incense burning, and cooking emission were the major p-PAH exposure sources for children. The total benzo[a]pyrene equivalent (BaPeq) concentration was 1.07 ± 0.80 ng/m3 (mean ± standard deviation), with a GM of 0.84 ng/m3. The GM value of the inhalation carcinogenic risk was 7.31 × 10−5 with the range of 2.23 × 10−5 to 3.11 × 10−4, which was higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration guideline limit of 10−6. DBA accounted for 45.1% of the excess cancer risk, followed by benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) (33.5%) and IND (10.7%). In conclusion, the current study demonstrated that inhalational cancer risk due to the p-PAH exposures for children is not negligible, and more efficient technical and management policies should be adopted to reduce the PAH pollutant sources.
Highlights
Among air pollutants, particulate matter (PM) has been an important topic of continuous concern and discussion for public health
It could be seen that the exposure levels for p-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with lesser rings were quite low
The means of the lifetime excess cancer risk (LECR) resulting from inhalation exposure to ambient particle-bound PAHs (p-PAHs) were recorded as 4.7 × 10−5 for a rural residential area in Changhua County, 5.79 × 10−4 for an urban trafficked area, 2.56 × 10−4 for a suburban area, and
Summary
Particulate matter (PM) has been an important topic of continuous concern and discussion for public health. Studies have shown that long-term exposure to PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm) in metropolitan areas increases the risk of lung cancer, adverse respiratory outcomes, and cardiovascular diseases [1,2,3]. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of persistent organic pollutants that have significant adverse effects on the health of the human body [7]. PAHs are hydrocarbons bonded by two or more fused aromatic rings, which are formed mainly as a result of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis of organic substances. The sources of PAHs generated by human activities include mobile and stationary pollution sources. The mobile-oriented PAHs are mainly emitted by motor vehicles, while the stationary pollution sources include industrial process combustion, waste incineration, thermal power generation, and cooking activities. The geological factor, weather condition, urban land use characteristics, and customs of the various regions have different degrees of influence on the concentration of PAHs in the environment [9,10,11]
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