Can urinary OH-PAHs serve as biomarkers for indicating inhalation exposure to PAHs of children: Evidence based on a
Wenjing Zhao1, Jiajun He1, Zhangning Li1
1School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
Abstract:
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent organic pollutants that present potential health threats to children. Hydroxy-PAHs (OH-PAHs), as the metabolites of PAHs, are widely used in biological monitoring due to less physiological burden than blood or tissue sampling. However, the association between PAHs exposure through inhalation and the urinary OH-PAHs concentration is not clear and whether OH-PAHs can reflect the short-term exposure levels of respiratory PAHs remains controversial. In this study, child participants from an indoor coal combustion environment were selected, and a panel study was conducted after dietary control. A total of 10 OH-PAHs in morning urine were measured by a LC-MS/MS method. PAHs and Nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) associated with PM2.5 were collected by a personal sampler and measured by the GC-MS method. The response significance of urinary OH-PAHs to inhalation PAHs exposure was tested by Spearman analysis. The theoretical urinary OH-PAH values were estimated based on inhalation exposure and compared with the method limits of detection (LOD). Finally, the negative health influence of PAHs inhalation on children was quantitatively estimated. The results showed that no significant correlation was observed between urinary OH-PAHs and the inhalation exposure dose. Furthermore, the theoretical urinary OH-PAHs concentration estimated was much less than the current method LOD. The carcinogenic risk based on urine OH-PAHs (average risk: 1.79 × 10-5) was approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the risk derived from inhalation (average risk: 3.26 × 10-8). The study showed that urinary OH-PAHs were not suitable as indicators for short-term inhalation exposure in routine studies. The accurate assessment of inhaled PAH related health risks of children requires a comprehensive analysis combining environmental monitoring, biological monitoring, dietary exposure assessment, and behavioral data of the target population.
