Dermal exposure to particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from barbecue fume as impacted by physicochemical conditions

Abstract

Inhalation of size-dependent particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been extensively studied, whereas dermal absorption has not been adequately investigated. To address this knowledge gap, dermal absorption of size-dependent particle-bound PAHs was characterized through the collection of indoor air and forearm wipe samples in the setting of an indoor barbecue. The mass of size-fractioned PAHs associated with particulate matter was greater in fine particles (<1.8 μm) than in coarse particles (>1.8 μm). Gas-particle distribution of specific PAHs from barbecue fume was ascribed to both adsorption and absorption which would probably be close to equilibrium, while that from background air was dominated by absorption. Forearm-deposited amounts of particulate PAHs suggested that removal of coarse and fine particles could minimize exposure to low and high molecular-weight (MW) PAHs, respectively. Besides, the concentrations of particulate PAHs in forearms wipe were significantly correlated to their dry deposition fluxes with coarse particles, but weakly correlated to those with fine particles. This indicated that particle size would influence dermal absorption efficiency of particle-bound PAHs with fine particles prolonging dermal exposure to PAHs. Overall, higher MW particle-bound PAHs derived from barbecue fume may pose higher risk to human health by dermal absorption than lower MW PAHs.

Keywords: Barbecue fume; Dermal exposure; Forearms wipe; Gas-particle distribution; Particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.