Biomonitoring of concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in blood and urine of children at playgrounds within Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure is among the leading air pollutants associated with diverse adverse health effects due to their persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic characteristics. Children are most affected by these pollutants, yet studies directly related children to these pollutants are scarce in Nigeria. In this study, blood and urine from 36 children between the ages 4-14 years were collected as per sterile procedures by a licensed phlebotomist from the antecubital fossa into BD vacutainer tubes® while a mid-stream urine sample into acid-washed 120 mL BD vacutainer urine cups and stored in refrigerator at –4˚C for 6 hours, then each 5 mL was extracted with 10 mL of pentane and analyzed for 15 PAHs using GC-MS. Results revealed that PAHs concentrations (53.48 to 70.8 μg/dL) in blood was lower than in urine (94.98 to 115.04 μg/dL). Mean values had no significant (p>0.5) differences between schools, possibly due to the fact that all schools were experiencing similar anthropogenic disturbances. At 5% level of significance, positive and strong correlationships (r=0.83, r=0.73) were observed for fluorene-fluoranthene (FLa) and benzo (a) anthracene-FLa respectively in blood samples. Two and three rings PAHs had generally low concentrations in both blood and urine. Despite being the most distributed compound, the concentration of dibenzo (a,h) anthracene was highest for urine than in blood. Urine PAHs showed higher concentration of carcinogenic PAHs than blood. Elimination ratios (ER) such as for acenaphthene (0.06) and anthracene (Ant; 0.11) were considered low while values such as for FLa (1.36) and indeno [1, 2, 3-cd] pyrene (1.55) were considered high ER. Trends in elimination ratios showed close similarity. In conclusion there was elevated PAHs in blood and urine of children with consequent high carcinogenic and then non-carcinogenic risks. This research is significant in setting the stage for more detailed work at same time alerting policy makers on the need for urgent mitigation steps that will reduce children exposure to this class of dangerous pollutants.

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental and Occupational Exposures by GC-MS and Gas Sensor Systems: A Systematic Review

“…The dominant PAHs in human whole blood were low-molecular-weight PAHs (2–4 rings), whereas higher-molecular-weight PAHs were found at relatively lower concentrations [ 54 ]. In general, PAH concentrations were lower in blood than in urine, where BaA and carcinogenic PAHs were more abundant [ 55 ]. In a study by Boada et al, serum PAHs did not appear to be related to bladder cancer risk: The only difference between cancer patients and the controls was that pyrene was detected only in the controls and CHR only in the cancer group [ 56 ].…”

“…In general, blood is the preferred matrix for many chemicals, as it is in continuous contact with the whole organism and is in equilibrium with organs and tissues; it is used for the determination of POPs [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 42 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 58 , 59 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 ] with the exception of some POPs [ 39 , 40 , 44 ], PAHs [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 53 ], and some pesticides (i.e., pyrethroids) [ ...…”

“…Urine, breast milk, and exhaled air sampling are non-invasive, easy, and can be done directly by the individuals. Urine is the most useful matrix for measuring urinary biomarkers that are rapidly metabolized and excreted, such as non-persistent pesticides, bisphenol A (BPA) [ 126 ], and other phenols [ 44 ], parabens [ 130 ], volatile organic compounds (VOCs) [ 83 , 85 , 87 , 92 , 93 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 105 , 108 , 111 ], and PAHs [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 53 , 55 , 60 , 61 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ]. However, urine analysis suffers from great temporal variability in composition within individuals.…”

Hydroxylation at Multiple Positions Initiated the Biodegradation of Indeno[1,2,3-cd]Pyrene in Rhodococcus aetherivorans IcdP1

“…PAHs are teratogenetic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic, and the more complex structures and metabolic pathways of HWM PAHs, especially IcdP, are even more toxic to human health and environment (Burchiel and Luster, 2001;Wong et al, 2018;Wirnkor et al, 2019). R. aetherivorans IcdP1 could efficiently degrade IcdP (> 64% within 10 days) and other HWM PAHs.…”

“…These highly degradation-resistant contaminants commonly exist at sites associated with petroleum, gas production, and wood processing industries (Kuppusamy et al, 2016a). High-molecular-weight PAHs (HWM PAHs, four to seven rings), such as indeno [1,2,3-cd]pyrene (six rings), are more toxic due to their more complex structure and metabolic pathway and labeled hazardous by US EPA in 2008 (Keith and Telliard, 1979;Burchiel and Luster, 2001;Samanta et al, 2002;Kuppusamy et al, 2016b;Wong et al, 2018;Wirnkor et al, 2019). Morillo et al determined the degree of contamination with PAHs in samples of soil from three European cities.…”