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Ambient concentrations and personal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in an urban community with mixed sources of air pollution

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 21, pages 437–449 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Assessment of the health risks resulting from exposure to ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is limited by a lack of environmental exposure data among the general population. This study characterized personal exposure and ambient concentrations of PAH in the Village of Waterfront South (WFS), an urban community with many mixed sources of air toxics in Camden, New Jersey, and CopeWood/Davis Streets (CDS), an urban reference area located ∼1 mile east of WFS. A total of 54 and 53 participants were recruited from non-smoking households in WFS and CDS, respectively. In all, 24-h personal and ambient air samples were collected simultaneously in both areas on weekdays and weekends during summer and winter. The ambient PAH concentrations in WFS were either significantly higher than or comparable to those in CDS, indicating the significant impact of local sources on PAH pollution in WFS. Analysis of diagnostic ratios and correlation suggested that diesel truck traffic, municipal waste combustion and industrial combustion were the major sources in WFS. In such an area, ambient air pollution contributed significantly to personal PAH exposure, explaining 44–96% of variability in personal concentrations. This study provides valuable data for examining the impact of local ambient PAH pollution on personal exposure and therefore potential health risks associated with environmental PAH pollution.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Health Effects Institute (HEI Agreement Number: 4703-RFA03-1/03-15). Drs. Fan and Lioy are also supported in part by the NIEHS sponsored UMDNJ Center for Environmental Exposures and Disease, Grant No. NIEHS P30ES005022. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the funding agencies. The authors thank all the participants for their cooperation.

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Author notes

  1. Xianlei Zhu

    Present address: 1Present address: College of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing, China,

  2. Xiangmei Wu

    Present address: 2Present address: Department of Public Health, University of California, Davis, CA, USA,

  3. Kyung Hwa Jung

    Present address: 3Present address: College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

    Xianlei Zhu, Zhihua (tina) Fan, Xiangmei Wu, Kyung Hwa Jung, Pamela Ohman-Strickland & Paul J Lioy

  2. Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, UMDNJ, 08854, New Jersey, USA

    Xianlei Zhu, Zhihua (tina) Fan, Xiangmei Wu, Kyung Hwa Jung & Paul J Lioy

  3. Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, UMDNJ, 08854, New Jersey, USA

    Pamela Ohman-Strickland

  4. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, 08625-0409, New Jersey, USA

    Linda J Bonanno

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  1. Xianlei Zhu
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Correspondence to Zhihua (tina) Fan.

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Zhu, X., Fan, Z., Wu, X. et al. Ambient concentrations and personal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in an urban community with mixed sources of air pollution. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 21, 437–449 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2011.2

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