title: Cancer risk from polycyclic aromatic compounds in fine particulate matter generated from household coal combustion in Xuanwei, China.
abstract: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their polar derivatives (oxygenated PAHs: OPAHs and azaarenes: AZAs) were characterized in fine particulates (PM2.5) emitted from indoor coal combustion. Samples were collected in Xuanwei (Yunnan Province), a region in China with a high rate of lung cancer. A sample from the community with the highest mortality contained the highest total concentration of PAHs, OPAHs and AZAs and posed the highest excess cancer risk from a lifetime of inhaling fine particulates. Positive correlations between total carbonyl-OPAHs, total AZAs and total PAHs implied that the emissions were dependent on similar factors, regardless of sample location and type. The calculated cancer risk ranged from 5.23-10.7 × 10-3, which is higher than the national average. The risk in each sample was ∼1-2 orders of magnitude higher than that deemed high risk, suggesting that the safety of these households is in jeopardy. The lack of potency equivalency factors for the PAH derivatives could possibly have underestimated the overall cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lui
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Falkenplatz 16, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Benjamin A Musa
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Bandowe
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Linwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Chi-Sing
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China; Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Ji
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Research Center of Urban Environmental Technology and Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China. Electronic address: kfho@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D003031:Coal / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity / Q000652:urine; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity / Q000652:urine; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D003031:Coal; D052638:Particulate Matter; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Azaarenes; Cancer risk; Coal; Indoor air; Oxygenated PAHs; PAHs