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. 2024 Jan 31;2(3):150-160.
doi: 10.1021/envhealth.3c00164. eCollection 2024 Mar 15.

Differential Occupational Health Risks between Methylated PAHs and PAHs: Monitoring 126 PAHs and 6 Oxidative Stress Markers in Paired Serum-Urine Samples

Ke-Xin Zhao  1 , Chao Jiang  2 , Yue Han  2 , Wen-Long Li  3 , Yu-Wei Li  1 , Li-Yan Liu  1 , Wan-Li Ma  1 , Ying-Hua Hu  2 , Zi-Feng Zhang  1
Affiliations

Differential Occupational Health Risks between Methylated PAHs and PAHs: Monitoring 126 PAHs and 6 Oxidative Stress Markers in Paired Serum-Urine Samples

Ke-Xin Zhao et al. Environ Health (Wash). .

Abstract

The hazards of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on occupationally exposed population have been widely acknowledged. However, the occupational exposure risks associated their derivatives, methylated PAHs, remain poorly understood. This study conducted a screen of 126 PAHs and 6 oxidative stress biomarkers (OSBs) in paired serum-urine samples from 110 petrochemical workers to assess the risk associated with different PAHs exposure. The results showed that the median concentrations of unmetabolized 16 priority PAHs (p-PAHs), 16 regular PAHs (R-PAHs), 50 methyl-PAHs (Me-PAHs), and 30 nitro-PAHs (N-PAHs) in serum (urine) were 97.98 (66.46), 11.02 (0.00), 77.76 (31.77), and 1.93 (0.10) ng/mL, respectively. The median concentration of metabolized hydroxy PAHs (OH-PAHs) in urine was 12.00 ng/mL (9.49 ng/mg creatinine). OSBs indicate that the hazards of Me-PAHs on exposed populations manifest as protein damage, while the hazards of p-PAHs mainly result in lipid and DNA damage. Results from common diseases and PAH exposure demonstrate a correlation between liver damage and PAH exposure, and Me-PAHs are more difficult to metabolize through urine due to their stronger lipophilicity. This study suggests that traditional health screenings targeting p-PAHs may be insufficient and likely underestimate the exposure risks for occupational populations.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Occurrence of PAHs in serum and urine.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Concentrations of PAHs in serum and urine for different departments (a). Gender differences in PAHs exposure among petrochemical workers (∑30 PAHs in serum (b), ∑23 PAHs in urine (c), and ∑14 OH-PAHs (d)). The asterisks outside the whiskers represent this set of data being significantly higher than the data represented by the asterisk color (p < 0.05). The black asterisks indicate being significantly higher than the other gender (p < 0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Individual hazard quotients (HQs), hazard indices (HIs), and incremental lifetime carcinogenic risk (ILCR) of PAHs for petrochemical workers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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