Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6307908 | Chemosphere | 2015 | 11 Pages |
Abstract
In 2009, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment promoted the BIOAMBIENT.ES project, a Human Biomonitoring program on the national scale to estimate reference levels of environmental pollutants on a representative sample of the Spanish adults. The present study focuses on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The urinary metabolites 1-hydroxypyrene, 1-,2-,3-,4- and 9-hydroxyphenanthrene and 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene were selected as indicators of PAH exposure. Urine samples from 957 subjects (16-65 years old) were collected during year 2009-2010. Geometric mean and 95th percentile for 1-hydroxypyrene in μg gâ1 creatinine were 0.117 (non-smoker: 0.079, smokers: 0.184) and 0.67 μg gâ1 creatinine (non-smokers: 0.31, smokers: 0.69) respectively. GM and 95th percentile for sum of hydroxyphenanthrenes in μg gâ1 creatinine were 0.130 (non-smokers: 0.089, smokers: 0.317) and 1.29 (non-smokers: 0.71, smokers: 1.51) respectively. 3-Hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene was below the limit of quantitation (0.05 μg Lâ1) in all cases. Significant differences (p < 0.05) regarding smokers and non-smokers, coal and wood heating, body mass index and second hand smoke were found, while other variables like gender, age, or diet showed no significant association. The geographical distribution of the metabolites showed higher levels in people who lived in the north and northwest of Spain. The PAH metabolites levels found were in the same range or lower than those reported from other European countries and they were higher than those found in the U.S. This study represents the first nationwide survey of exposure to PAHs in Spain and provides a background reference range for exposure to PAHs in the Spanish adult occupied population.
Keywords
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Environmental Science
Environmental Chemistry
Authors
Mónica Bartolomé, Juan José Ramos, Francisco Cutanda, Olga Huetos, Marta Esteban, Montserrat Ruiz-Moraga, Eva Calvo, Beatriz Pérez-Gómez, Oscar González, BIOAMBIENT.ES BIOAMBIENT.ES, Argelia Castaño,