Indoor exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide in traditional houses in Burundi

Abstract

It appears that the substantially high concentrations of the studied contaminants constitute a potential health hazard to the rural population of Burundi.

Biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in pregnant women in Trujillo, Peru — Comparison of different fuel types used for cooking

“…Pregnant women in this study had higher levels of creatinine adjusted OH-PAHs compared to levels observed in charcoal workers in Brazil (Kato et al, 2004), but are comparable to those observed in non-smoking women in a city in the industrial Ruhr Valley in Germany (Gündel et al, 1996). Concentration of creatinine adjusted 1-PYR was higher in female cooks who worked in a mill in China and cooked with wood, coal briquette or LPG (~2 times higher) (Chen et al, 2007), and in a rural Burundi population exposed to indoor biomass smoke mainly from the combustion of wood (~3.5 times higher) (Viau et al, 2000) compared to the pregnant women in this study. Concentrations of creatinine adjusted two-to four ring OH-PAHs (same as measured in this study) were also higher in women participating in woodstove intervention programs in the Santiago de Chuco Province in Peru: approximately 1.5 to 5 times higher before, and 1.1 to 3.5 times higher after the installation of improved woodstoves .…”

“…A few studies have characterized the risk of exposure to PAHs due to residential combustion of different biomass fuels by measuring PAH levels at breathing zone height in cooking environments (Bhargava et al, 2004;Hamada et al, 1991;Oanh and Dungs, 1999;Pandit et al, 2001) and under experimental conditions (Oanh et al, 2002) and report that various PAHs are elevated during the combustion of wood, kerosene, cow dung and coal briquette. Results of biomarker studies have shown that people exposed to smoke from biomass combustion have elevated levels of hydroxy-substituted PAHs in urine (Cavanagh et al, 2007;Kato et al, 2004;Li et al, 2011;Riojas-Rodriguez et al, 2011;Viau et al, 2000), and receive a significant PAH exposure from biomass smoke RiojasRodriguez et al, 2011). Reductions in urinary two-to four-ring OH-PAHs after the installation of improved woodstoves ranged from 19% to 52% in women participating in woodstove intervention programs in the Santiago de Chuco Province in Peru , and from 20% to 42% in women participating in a similar program in the state of Michoacan in Mexico (Riojas-Rodriguez et al, 2011).…”

“…Smoke generated by the combustion of wood and other biomass fuels contains many health damaging pollutants including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, aldehydes, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (Joshi et al, 1989;Naeher et al, 2007;Venkataraman et al, 2002;Zelikoff et al, 2002;Zhang and Smith, 2007). Household biomass fuel combustion compared to the use of cleaner fuels such as gas could contribute significantly more to indoor levels of these pollutants, including PAHs (Bhargava et al, 2004;Hamada et al, 1991;Oanh and Dungs, 1999;Viau et al, 2000). The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies some of the individual PAHs as Class II carcinogens, and identifies benzo(a)pyrene as a Class I carcinogen (IARC, 2010;Straif et al, 2005).…”

“…PAHs are metabolized in the body to form hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PAHs) which are excreted in urine. OH-PAHs have been used as biomarkers of PAHs in different exposure situations (Gündel et al, 2000;Kuusimäki et al, 2004;Li et al, 2008;Toriba and Hayakawa, 2007), and 1-hydroxy-pyrene (1-PYR) has been used in some studies as a biomarker of exposure to PAHs in woodsmoke (Cavanagh et al, 2007;Kato et al, 2004;Viau et al, 2000).…”

Alteration of fertility endpoints in adult male F-344 rats by subchronic exposure to inhaled benzo(a)pyrene

“…The exposure concentration of BaP used in this study is within the range (10μg-2mg/ m 3 ) present in the environment from sources such as: aluminum smelter and coke oven battery industries (WHO, 1998); ambient air of highly polluted industrial cities (Chorazy et al, 1994); cooking oil and wood combustion fumes (Viau et al, 2000); home heating with coal-gas (WHO, 1998). Furthermore, the exposure concentration of BaP used in this study is close to the legally enforceable limit of 100μg/m 3 established for PAHs by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, 1998).…”