title: Biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure in small groups of residents in Brisbane, Australia and Hanoi, Vietnam, and those travelling between the two cities.
abstract: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been associated with adverse health outcomes. Concentrations of urinary PAH metabolites (OH-PAHs) provide an integrated measure of human exposure to PAHs but measurement of urinary OH-PAHs has not been done in Australia and rarely in Vietnam, where air pollution is of concern. In this study, we assessed exposure to PAHs in 16 participants living in Brisbane, Australia and Hanoi, Vietnam, with 4 participants travelling between the two cities during the monitoring period. A total of 312 first morning urine samples were collected over 10weeks and were analysed for nine OH-PAHs. Concentrations of the urinary OH-PAHs were 2-10 times higher in participants from Hanoi than those from Brisbane. For example, the median concentrations of 1-hydroxypyrene were 292pg/mL in Hanoi, compared to 64pg/mL in Brisbane. For participants travelling from Brisbane to Hanoi and back, differences in exposure to PAHs in these two cities resulted in corresponding changes of urinary OH-PAH concentrations, demonstrating that the more polluted environment in Hanoi was likely the source for higher PAH exposure there.
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), Australia; Queensland University of Technology, International Laboratory for Air Quality & Health, Australia. Electronic address: phong.thai@qut.edu.au.
authors.forename: Phong K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Thai
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sjödin
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit and Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Nguyen Bich
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Diep
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Ta Thi
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Binh
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), Australia.
authors.forename: Jochen F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000652:urine*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000652:urine*; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000652:urine; D014744:Vietnam
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011721:Pyrenes; C033146:1-hydroxypyrene
keywords: Air pollution; OH-PAHs; PAH exposure