Urinary 1-Hydroxypyrene Levels in Children Residing Near a Coal-fired Power Plant and a Steel-manufacturing Mill

Abstract

PP-29-066 Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of industrial emissions from a coal-fired power plant and a steel-manufacturing mill on children's exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by measuring urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), the metabolite of PAHs. Methods: Dispersion modeling method was used to identify 4 study communities. Two villages located downwind and most likely to be affected by the plants were the high exposure communities, and 2 villages located upwind and 7–15 kilometers from the plants were the low exposure communities. Ambient levels of particulate matter (PM10) and PAHs were measured in each community. In total, 380 children aged 1–13 years and randomly sampled from these 4 communities participated in this study. Personal information was collected by interview, and urinary 1-OHP was measured by the high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) method. Results: Children living in the high exposure communities had a significantly higher mean urinary 1-OHP concentration than those in the low exposure communities (0.19–0.20 μmol/mol creatinine vs. 0.12–0.14 μmol/mol-creatinine). PM10 concentrations in high exposure communities (34.61–75.74 μg/m3) were higher than that in the low exposure communities (28.75–37.64 μg/m3). The concentrations of total PAHs were higher in the high exposure communities (7.64–12.18 ng/m3) than that in low exposure communities (6.69–7.37 ng/m3). Results of the multiple regression showed a significantly positive association between urinary 1-OHP and ambient levels of PM10 and PAHs after adjusting for age, gender, income, environment tobacco smoke, and area of exposure community. Conclusion: In conclusion, children living downwind and in proximity to the coal-fired power plant and steel-manufacturing mill had increased urinary 1-OHP levels.