title: Cumulative exposure assessment for trace-level polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using human blood and plasma analysis.
abstract: Humans experience chronic cumulative trace-level exposure to mixtures of volatile, semi-volatile, and non-volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the environment as by-products of combustion processes. Certain PAHs are known or suspected human carcinogens and so we have developed methodology for measuring their circulating (blood borne) concentrations as a tool to assess internal dose and health risk. We use liquid/liquid extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and present analytical parameters including dynamic range (0-250 ng/ml), linearity (>0.99 for all compounds), and instrument sensitivity (range 2-22 pg/ml) for a series of 22 PAHs representing 2-6-rings. The method is shown to be sufficiently sensitive for estimating PAHs baseline levels (typical median range from 1 to 1000 pg/ml) in groups of normal control subjects using 1-ml aliquots of human plasma but we note that some individuals have very low background concentrations for 5- and 6-ring compounds that fall below robust quantitation levels.
authors.affiliation: Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division, NERL/ORD, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. pleil.joachim@epa.gov
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Pleil
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Stiegel
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sobus
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tabucchi
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ghio
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Madden
mesh_terms: D005591:Chemical Fractionation; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005615:Freezing; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006586:Hexanes; D006801:Humans; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000097:blood*; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D006586:Hexanes; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons