Korean J Prev Med.  2000 Sep;33(3):306-312.

Urinary 1-Hydroxypyrene and 2-Naphthol as a Biological Exposure Markers of Total Suspended Particulate in the General Population

• Kang JW
• Cho SH
• Kim H
• Kang D
• Lee CH

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are well known environmental pollutants. The measurement of PAH in ambient air is not commonly used, because it is quite difficult to perform and is unreliable. Using biomarkers of PAH can be an alternative approach to this problem. The PAH in ambient air is absorbed in particulate matter. Total suspended particulate(TSP) or particulate matter of less than 10 micrometer in diameter (PM10) can be easily measured. Therefore, TSP or PM10 can be used as a surrogate measurements of ambient air PAH.
CONCLUSIONS
We investigated whether the urinary concentration of two biomarkers of PAH, 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and 2-naphthol, could reflect the total suspended particulate in the general population.
METHODS
In order to exclude the effects of occupational exposure and smoking, first grade middle school students were included in this study. Four middle schools within a one kilometer boundary of ambient air monitoring stations were selected. Total suspended particulate was regarded as the marker of airborne PAH. Diet and smoking data were collected by self administered questionnaires, and spot urine samples were collected. Urinary 1-OHP and 2-naphthol were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography.
RESULTS
The correlation between urinary 1-OHP, 2-naphthol and passive smoking was not statistically significant. The correlation between urinary 1-OHP and TSP indices was not statistically significant. The correlations between urinary 2-naphthol and TSP of two lag days, one lag day, and zero lag days were statistically significant. The statistical significance of two lag days was the strongest (p=0.001), one lag day was the next (p=0.0275), and zero lag days was the weakest (p=0.0349).
CONCLUSION
Our results imply that the urinary concentration of 2-naphthol can be applied as a PAH exposure marker for the general population with low PAH exposure.

Keyword

Air pollution; Biomarker; Total suspended particulate; PAH; 1-hydroxypyrene; 2-naphthol

MeSH Terms

Air Pollution
Biomarkers
Chromatography, Liquid
Diet
Environmental Pollutants
Humans
Occupational Exposure
Particulate Matter
Polycyclic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic
Surveys and Questionnaires
Smoke
Smoking
Tobacco Smoke Pollution
Environmental Pollutants
Particulate Matter
Polycyclic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic
Smoke
Tobacco Smoke Pollution