title: Relationship of exposure to coke-oven emissions and urinary metabolites of benzo(a)pyrene and pyrene in coke-oven workers.
abstract: Coke-oven workers are occupationally exposed to a high concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). r-7,t-8,9,c-10-Tetrahydroxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene (trans-anti-BaP-tetraol) and 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) are urinary metabolites of benzo(a)pyrene and pyrene, respectively. In this study, we investigated the relationship among individual air exposure to benzene soluble fraction (BSF) of total particulates, as a surrogate marker of ambient PAH exposures, and urinary trans-anti-BaP-tetraol and 1-OHP concentrations in coke-oven workers at a steel plant in Taiwan. Fifty-seven subjects, including 41 male workers who work in one coke-oven plant and 16 men (referents) from an administrative area, were studied. The mean trans-anti-BaP-tetraol and 1-OHP concentrations (mean +/- SD) were 0.4 +/- 0.3 nmol/mol creatinine and 9.7 +/- 21.6 micromol/mol creatinine, respectively, in coke-oven workers. These levels were significantly higher than those in referents (0.03 +/- 0.03 nmol/mole creatinine, P < 0.001 and 0.4 +/- 0.2 micromol/mol creatinine, P < 0.01, respectively). Urinary trans-anti-BaP-tetraol concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with individual average BSF and urinary 1-OHP concentrations. That is, the higher the urinary trans-anti-BaP-tetraol concentrations, the more ambient BSF exposure and urinary 1-OHP concentrations (Spearman correlation coefficients r = 0.68 and 0.70, respectively; P < 0.0001; n = 57). These findings suggest that urinary 1-OHP and trans-anti-BaP-tetraol might be considered as potential biomarkers for the assessment of uptake of known PAH carcinogens in the air.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and Department of Occupational Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Tsang
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Christiani
authors.forename: Stephen S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hecht
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000592:standards*; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000378:metabolism; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000378:metabolism*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000378:metabolism*; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D002273:Carcinogens; D011721:Pyrenes; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene; C033146:1-hydroxypyrene