Environmental and biological monitoring of PAHs exposure in coke-oven workers at the Taranto plant compared to two groups from the general population of Apulia, Italy

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure in the coke industry poses a risk for workers' health as well as for subjects living in the plant vicinity. Objectives: To assess PAHs exposure in coke-oven workers (CW) at the Taranto plant, Apulia, and in subjects from the general population living near (NC) and far away (FC) from the plant. Methods: Exposure was assessed by personal air sampling and urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) measured in 100 CW, 18 NC and 15 FC. Results: Median airborne benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) levels were 152, 1.5, and 3.6 ng/m(3) in CW, NC, and FC, respectively. In CW, median 1-OHP increased from 1.45 to 1.96 mu g/g creatinine (crt) during the work shift (p>0.05); in NC and FC, 1-OHP levels were 0.56 and 0.53 mu g/g crt. No significant differences between NC and FC for both air and urinary indices were found. BaP exposure in CW exceeded the recently proposed German acceptable (70 ng/m(3)) and tolerable (700 ng/m(3)) risk-based limit values in 82 and 11% of subjects, respectively. In NC and FC, BaP exposure exceeded the European target value for ambient air (1 ng/m(3)) in 67 and 60% of subjects, respectively. Biomonitoring showed that 21% of CW had 1-OHP levels higher than the proposed biological limit value for the coke-oven industry (4.4 mu g/g crt), while 93% of FC, and 88% of NC, had 1-OHP levels exceeding the Italian reference value (0.3 mu g/g crt). Among non-smokers, a linear regression between 1-OHP and BaP (Pearson value r=0.65, p<0.05) allowed us to estimate levels of 1.2 and 1.9 mu g/g crt for 1-OHP end-of-shift corresponding to acceptable and tolerable limit values. Conclusions: Although lower than in the past, PAHs exposure in the coke plant still poses a health risk for workers and the general population and requires further efforts to improve workplace conditions.