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Personal exposure to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Czech Republic

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 23, pages 350–355 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Personal exposures to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (c-PAHs) bound to airborne particulate matter ⩽2.5 μm (PM2.5) were measured in the context of a large-scale molecular epidemiological study in order to identify the impacts of air pollution on human health. Sampling was carried out in three industrial cities in the Czech Republic: Ostrava, Karvina and Havirov. The city of Prague, exhibiting much lower industrial air pollution but a high level of traffic, served as a control. The first monitoring campaigns were held in winter and were repeated in the summer of 2009. The active personal monitors PV 1.7 for PM2.5-bound c-PAHs were used. Non-smoking city policemen from Prague, Karvina and Havirov, and office workers from Ostrava, participated in the study. All participants completed a personal questionnaire and a time-location-activity diary. The average personal winter exposure to c-PAHs (sum of the eight PAHs—benz[a]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, chrysene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene) was highest in Karvina, 39.1, followed by Ostrava at 15.1 and Prague at 4.3 ng/m3. The winter levels were significantly higher than the summer values (P<0.001): 4.3 in Karvina, 3.0 in Ostrava, 1.6 in Havirov and 1.0 ng/m3 in Prague. The average personal benzo[a]pyrene winter/summer exposures were: 6.9/0.6 in Karvina, 2.5/0.4 in Ostrava, 0.8/0.1 in Prague and 0.2 ng/m3 in summer in Havirov. In this study, we examined personal exposure to c-PAHs and tested it for associations with potential predictor variables collected from questionnaires, addressing life style factors and day-to-day activities. We found outdoor concentration, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, home heating fuel of coal, wood or gas, frequency of exhaust fan use, cooking and commuting by a car to be the main determinants of personal exposure.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic (CZ:MZP CR:SP/1b3/8/08) and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (CZ:MSMT CR:2B08005). We are very thankful to the willingness of all the study participants, who contributed tremendously to the success of this project. We also specially thank the cooperating institutions and personnel who helped with the coordination of the monitoring campaigns and provided critical facilities for realizing the campaigns: the Regional Authority of the Moravian-Silesian Region in Ostrava and the Municipal Police in Karvina, Havirov and Prague. We thank Mr. James Dutt for editing the manuscript.

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  1. Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague 4, 14220, Czech Republic

    Vlasta Svecova, Jan Topinka, Ivo Solansky, Pavel Rossner Jr & Radim J Sram

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  1. Vlasta Svecova
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Correspondence to Radim J Sram.

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Svecova, V., Topinka, J., Solansky, I. et al. Personal exposure to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Czech Republic. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 23, 350–355 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.110

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