Published in:
01-10-2007 | Short Communication
Inhalation and dietary exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and urinary 1-hydroxypyrene in non-smoking university students
Published in: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health | Issue 1/2007
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Objective
To examine which exposure pathway, dietary or inhalation, contribute more to the exposure to, and/or internal dose of, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of non-smoking Japanese.
Methods
Duplicated diet, personal air samples and 24-h urine were collected from14 non-smoking male university students without occupational exposure and the concentrations of PAHs in diet and air and that of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) in urine were measured with HPLC-fluorescence detector.
Results
Daily dietary exposure contributed more than 90% of the total (diet + inhalation) daily exposure level for pyrene (diet/inhalation: 757/1.2 ng/day), benzo[k]fluoranthene (25/1.7 ng/day) and benzo[a]pyrene (91/2.1 ng/day). Urinary excretion of 1-OHP (median: 37 ng/day) was statistically significantly correlated only with dietary PAHs exposure level but not with inhalation.
Conclusion
Countermeasures to lower PAHs levels in atmosphere has been successful in Japan and more attention should be directed to dietary exposure to PAHs for reducing cancer risk in general population.