title: Environmental and biological monitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels in outdoor workers exposed to urban stressor.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Purpose of this study is to evaluate and to compare the excretion of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHPu) in traffic policemen (TP) and drivers (D) of a large Italian city and to evaluate the existence and the degree of correlation between airborne exposure to 15 different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 1-OHPu levels in the examined population.
  
  
  METHODS
  192 male workers, 115 TP and 77 D, were monitored for 1-HOPu. A subgroup of non-smoking workers (subgroup B: 59 TP and 15 D) was also examined and 15 environmental PAHs was monitored through the personal samplings for the measurement of the particulate phase.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 1-OHPu levels and the values of personal airborne exposure to PAHs were significantly higher among non-smoking TP than among non-smoking D (p < 0.05). In subgroup B the levels of environmental exposure to all the 15 PAHs measured in TP and only 6 of 15 PAHs measured in D were significantly correlated with the values of 1-OHPu (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that the use of 1-OHPu as an indicator of exposure to PAHs is reliable also for what concerns the study of the low-dose work-related exposure in urban outdoor workers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sancini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tomei
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Montuori
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Caciari
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Andrè
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andreozzi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sinibaldi
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Schifano
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tomei
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Sio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capozzella
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciarrocca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000652:urine*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016495:Police; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000652:urine*; D014186:Transportation; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011721:Pyrenes; C033146:1-hydroxypyrene