Differential Occupational Health Risks Between Methylated PAHs and PAHs: Monitoring 126 PAHs and 6 Oxidative Stress Markers in Paired Serum-Urine Samples

Overview

Journal Environ Health (Wash)

Publisher American Chemical Society

Date 2024 Oct 30

PMID 39473813

Authors

Ke-Xin Zhao

Chao Jiang

Yue Han

Wen-Long Li

Yu-Wei Li

Li-Yan Liu

Wan-Li Ma

Ying-Hua Hu

Zi-Feng Zhang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The hazards of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on occupationally exposed population have been widely acknowledged. However, the occupational exposure risks associated their derivatives, methylated PAHs, remain poorly understood. This study conducted a screen of 126 PAHs and 6 oxidative stress biomarkers (OSBs) in paired serum-urine samples from 110 petrochemical workers to assess the risk associated with different PAHs exposure. The results showed that the median concentrations of unmetabolized 16 priority PAHs (p-PAHs), 16 regular PAHs (R-PAHs), 50 methyl-PAHs (Me-PAHs), and 30 nitro-PAHs (N-PAHs) in serum (urine) were 97.98 (66.46), 11.02 (0.00), 77.76 (31.77), and 1.93 (0.10) ng/mL, respectively. The median concentration of metabolized hydroxy PAHs (OH-PAHs) in urine was 12.00 ng/mL (9.49 ng/mg creatinine). OSBs indicate that the hazards of Me-PAHs on exposed populations manifest as protein damage, while the hazards of p-PAHs mainly result in lipid and DNA damage. Results from common diseases and PAH exposure demonstrate a correlation between liver damage and PAH exposure, and Me-PAHs are more difficult to metabolize through urine due to their stronger lipophilicity. This study suggests that traditional health screenings targeting p-PAHs may be insufficient and likely underestimate the exposure risks for occupational populations.

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