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Determinants of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels in house dust

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 21, pages 123–132 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Estimation of human exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is often desired for the epidemiological studies of cancer. One way to obtain information about indoor levels of PAHs is to measure these chemicals in house dust. In this study, we evaluated the predictive value of self-reported and geographic data for estimating measured levels of nine PAHs in house dust from 583 households in the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study (NCCLS). Using multivariable linear regression models, we evaluated the effects on house-dust PAH concentrations from the following covariates: residential heating sources, smoking habits, house characteristics, and outdoor emission sources. House dust was collected from 2001 to 2007, using both high-volume surface samplers and household vacuum cleaners, and was analyzed for nine PAHs using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. All nine PAHs were detected in more than 93% of dust samples, with median concentrations ranging from 14 to 94 ng/g dust. Statistically significant effects on PAH concentrations in house dust were found for gas heating, outdoor PAH concentrations, and residence age. Yet, the optimal regression model only explained 15% of the variation in PAH levels in house dust. As self-reported data and outdoor PAH sources were only marginally predictive of observed PAH levels, we recommend that PAH concentrations be measured directly in dust samples for use in epidemiological studies.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Grant numbers R01ES009137 and P42ES0470518); the Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health (subcontracts 7590-S-04 and 7590-S-01); the National Cancer Institute (contract N02-CP-11015) and the Berkeley Fellowship for Graduate Study. We thank the families for their participation. We also thank the clinical investigators at the following collaborating hospitals for help in recruiting patients: University of California Davis Medical Center (Dr. Jonathan Ducore), University of California San Francisco (Dr. Mignon Loh and Dr. Katherine Matthay), Children's Hospital of Central California (Dr. Vonda Crouse), Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (Dr. Gary Dahl), Children's Hospital Oakland (Dr. James Feusner), Kaiser Permanente Roseville (Dr. Kent Jolly and Dr. Vincent Kiley), Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara (Dr. Alan Wong and Dr. Carolyn Russo), Kaiser Permanente San Francisco (Dr. Kenneth Leung) and Kaiser Permanente Oakland (Dr. Daniel Kronish and Dr. Stacy Month). Finally, we acknowledge the entire Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study staff and the UCB Survey Research Center for their effort and dedication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

    Todd Whitehead, Catherine Metayer, Patricia Buffler & Stephen M Rappaport

  2. Northern California Cancer Center, Berkeley, California, USA

    Robert B Gunier

  3. Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Department of Health and Human Services, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Mary H Ward

  4. Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    Marcia G Nishioka

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  1. Todd Whitehead
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Correspondence to Todd Whitehead.

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Whitehead, T., Metayer, C., Gunier, R. et al. Determinants of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels in house dust. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 21, 123–132 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2009.68

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