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. 2018 Nov 28;15(12):2680.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph15122680.

Characterization of Environmental Health Inequalities Due to Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure in France

Despoina Ioannidou  1   2 , Laure Malherbe  3 , Maxime Beauchamp  4 , Nicolas P A Saby  5 , Roseline Bonnard  6 , Julien Caudeville  7
Affiliations

Characterization of Environmental Health Inequalities Due to Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure in France

Despoina Ioannidou et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Reducing environmental health inequalities has become a major focus of public health efforts in France, as evidenced by the French action plans for health and the environment. To evaluate environmental inequalities, routine monitoring networks provide a valuable source of data on environmental contamination, which can be used in integrated assessments, to identify overexposed populations and prioritize actions. However, available databases generally do not meet sufficient spatial representativeness to characterize population exposure, as they are usually not assembled for this specific purpose. The aim of this study was to develop geoprocessing procedures and statistical methods to build spatial environmental variables (water, air, soil, and food pollutant concentrations) at a fine resolution, and provide appropriate input for the exposure modelling. Those methods were designed to combine in situ monitoring data with correlated auxiliary information (for example, atmospheric emissions, population, and altitude), in order to better represent the variability of the environmental compartment quality. The MODUL'ERS multimedia exposure model developed by INERIS (French Institute for industrial Environment and Risks) was then used to assess the transfer of substances from the environment to humans, through inhalation and ingestion pathway characterization. We applied the methodology to a carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon substance, benzo[a]pyrene(B[a]P), to map spatialized exposure indicators, at the national scale. The largest environmental contribution corresponded to the ingestion pathway. Data processing algorithms and calculation of exposure will be integrated into the French coordinated integrated environment and health platform PLAINE (PLteforme intégrée d'Analyse des INégalités Environnementales) which has been developed to map and analyze environmental health inequalities.

Keywords: environmental health inequalities; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; spatial exposure.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustration of the exposure assessment process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Example of imputations for two water distribution units measured in mg/L; the black points correspond to observed values (>detection limit (DL)), while the red points correspond to the imputation for the same unobserved point, across the datasets obtained from the multiple imputation: (a) In this case the imputed values vary between the datasets, due to the existence of multiple observed values before the imputation; (b) no observed values were available for this distribution unit, therefore, the imputation was carried out considering only the correlation between the benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and the other Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), therefore, the imputed values between the datasets returned the same values.
Figure 3
Figure 3
B[a]P concentration maps (mg/L) in water in France, (a) for each municipality, and (b) with the highlighted highest values.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Initial soil data for B[a]P (French soil monitoring network: POP-RMQS); the negative values indicate the values under the detection limit (mg/kg).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Auxiliary variables to be used in the modeling of B[a]P soil concentration in France. (a) Indicator kriging map for the concentrations under the detection limit for B[a]P. (b) Source proxy, constructed as a function of inverse distance from the polluted sites (km−1).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Spatialization of the B[a]P concentrations in soil (mg/kg).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Measured concentrations of the B[a]P (ng/m3), by station type, for (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Correlation between altitude (m) and the B[a]P concentration measurements (ng/m3) for (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Estimated concentrations of the B[a]P measurements (ng/m3) in ambient air, for (a) 2010, (b) 2011, and (c) combined estimated concentration of the B[a]P measurements in ambient air, for both years.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Lifetime Average Daily Doses (LADD) by exposure media for France, measured in mg·kg−1·j−1: (a) Age class 1 (0–17 years); (b) age class 2 (17–70 years).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Excess of Individual Risk (×106) for B[a]P for (a) ingestion (food, water, and soil); (b) inhalation, and (c) total in France.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Final map of the B[a]P Excess of Individual Risk (EIR) (×106) including the model’s limitations.
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