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AIRBORNE EXPOSURE TO POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHs) AND URINARY EXCRETION OF 1-HYDROXYPYRENE OF CARBON ANODE PLANT WORKERS

Petry, Thomas ; Schmid, Peter ; Schlatter, Christian

In: The Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 1996, vol. 40, no. 3, p. 345-357

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    Title
    • AIRBORNE EXPOSURE TO POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHs) AND URINARY EXCRETION OF 1-HYDROXYPYRENE OF CARBON ANODE PLANT WORKERS
    Author
    • Petry, Thomas. Institute of Toxicology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich a University of Zurich, Schorenstrasse 16, CH-8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
    • Schmid, Peter. Institute of Toxicology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich a University of Zurich, Schorenstrasse 16, CH-8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
    • Schlatter, Christian. Institute of Toxicology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich a University of Zurich, Schorenstrasse 16, CH-8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • The Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 1996, vol. 40, no. 3, p. 345-357. Oxford University Press
    Other Version
    Classification
    • Health
    Keywords
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:296841
    Summary
    Workers in plants producing carbon anodes for aluminium electrolysis are exposed to PAHs containing coal tar pitch volatiles, pitch and coke. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene to characterize respiratory exposure to PAH, which is most relevant for assessing individual health risks. Six workers in a carbon anode plant volunteered to take part in a personal air sampling and a biological monitoring programme lasting five consecutive 8-h shifts to determine occupational exposure to airborne PAHs and urinary excretion of l-hydroxypyrene. Exposure to total PAH for all worksites varied from 3.99 to 120.6 μg PAH m−3 and for benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) from 0.17 to 4.88 μg BaP m−3. The concentration of 1-hydroxypyrene in post- and pre-shift urine samples was in the range (0.5-61.8 μmol 1-OHP per mol creatinine) and depended on the worksite. The Spearman rank correlation test showed a low but significant (P<0.05) correlation of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene in the post- and pre-shift samples with respiratory pyrene exposure. The quantitative aspects of biological monitoring for the evaluation of respiratory PAH exposure were tested with a pharmacokinetic model. On the basis of individual pyrene exposure, excretion of urinary 1- hydroxypyrene during the working week was calculated for each worker. The results presented in this investigation indicate that biological monitoring of the pyrene metabolite 1-hydroxypyrene is a useful indicator of a general PAll exposure, but cannot replace personal air sampling for assessing the lung cancer risk of individuals. Copyright © 1996 BOHS. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd