PERSONAL EXPOSURE TO CARCINOGENIC AIR-POLLUTANTS IN A SWEDISH CITY

Abstract

ISEE-178 Introduction: In order to estimate the exposure to some essential carcinogenic air-pollutants for the inhabitants, personal exposure measurements were made in a randomly selected sample of the population. Methods: Forty persons in the age 20 - 50 living in parishes within 10 km from the city center were randomly selected. For the duration of one week each person carried diffusive samplers for benzene, 1,3-butadiene, acetaldehyde and formaldehyde. During the sampling week each person answered questions in a diary and a questionnaire on factors relevant to their air pollution exposure. The measurements were repeated for twenty persons from the test group and for ten of these twenty persons 24-hour PAH measurements were made in their homes. In addition, personal exposure and measurements of PAH in homes were made for ten persons associated to the research-group. In parallel with the personal exposure measurements, stationary measurements were done at: 1) suburban background (10 km outside the city center); 2) urban background (roof level in the city center); and 3) traffic (street level in the city center). Results: The personal exposure level of benzene was 2.8 μg/m3 (median, range 1.3 – 16; see Table 1), and that of 1,3-butadien 0.4 μg/m3 (range 0.2 - 2.9), both in exceedance of national “low-risk levels”. The personal benzene levels were higher than in recent reports from other Swedish cities, while for the other carcinogens the levels were similar. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), and formaldehyde medians were just below their respective national “low-risk levels”. The stationary outdoor measurements showed the expected gradient from suburb to street. Except for BaP, personal levels exceeded urban background levels.Table: Personal exposure and stationary measurements of carcinogens (medians) in a Swedish cityDiscussion: These results show that the individual exposure to several carcinogens is still above acceptable levels for large parts of the population. Except for Benzo(a)pyrene, urban background measurements underestimate personal exposure by a factor of 2 (benzene) to 20 (acetaldehyde).