Assessment of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in Italian asphalt workers
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2007
Citazione:
Assessment of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in Italian asphalt workers / P.E. Cirla, I. Martinotti, M. Buratti, S. Fustinoni, L. Campo, E. Zito, E. Prandi, O. Longhi, D. Cavallo, V. Foà. - In: JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE. - ISSN 1545-9624. - 4:S1(2007), pp. 87-99.
Abstract:
The purpose of the work was the assessment of exposure
to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), a family of
ubiquitous pollutants of which some are carcinogens, in 100
Italian asphalt workers (exposed to bitumen fumes and diesel
exhausts) and in a reference group of 47 ground construction
operators (exposed only to diesel exhausts, reference group).
The protocol included interview via questionnaires, environmental
air-monitoring (active personal sampling during the
work shift), dermal contamination measures (six pads placed
on worker’s wrist, neck, arm, chest, thigh, and ankle), and
biological monitoring (determination of 1-hydroxypyrene in
urine spot samples collected three at different moments: baseline
after two days of vacation, before shift, and at end shift on a
day in the second half of the week). Analysis of the most relevant
PAH, according to the American Environmental Protection
Agency, EPA, was performed by High Performance Liquid
Chromatography (HPLC) by fluorimetric detector. Median
airborne levels of PAH ranged from 426 to below 0.03 ng/m3.
Vapor-phase PAH, apart from naphthalene, were significantly
higher in asphalt workers than in the reference group. Particlephase
PAH were similar and very low (<1 ng/m3) in both
exposure groups. Exposure levels did not vary in different
work-tasks. Excretion of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (expressed
by ng/g creatinine) showed a significant increase at different
sampling moments in asphalt workers, smokers, and nonsmokers:
baseline was lower than at the beginning of the
workshift, and values were even higher in the end workshift
sample. Comparing the two groups, a significant difference in
the levels of metabolite does not appear, whereas this trend
can be viewed observing the non-smokers. All body regions
monitored by pads showed equivalent values levels of Dermal
Deposition Density in both exposure groups. The measured
amount of dermal contamination was significantly higher in
asphalt workers than in ground construction operators. In
asphalt workers, skin contamination was significantly higher
during asphalt paving than during asphalt mixing. Dermal
Exposure Rate was calculated about threefold higher than
Airborne Exposure Rate; whereas considering toxicokinetical
information (Kp, lag time, experimental dermal absorption
data) and hygienistic data (particle size of bitumen fume),
the relevance of dermal absorption is lower than respiratory.
The results of this study demonstrate that asphalt workers
experience slight occupational exposure to PAH, both by
inhalatory and dermal routes, resulting in a significant increase
of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene during the workweek.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
1-hydroxypyrene; Air monitoring; Asphalt workers; Bitumen fumes; Dermal exposure; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Elenco autori:
P.E. Cirla, I. Martinotti, M. Buratti, S. Fustinoni, L. Campo, E. Zito, E. Prandi, O. Longhi, D. Cavallo, V. Foà
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