Exposure to PAH in asphalt road pavers by environmental and biological monitoring

In the present study we assessed exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Italian asphalt workers (AW, n=100), exposed to bitumen fumes and diesel exhausts, and in roadside construction workers (CW, n=47), exposed to diesel exhausts, by means of environmental and biological monitoring. 1-Hydroxypyrene (OH-Py) was determined in urine spot samples collected respectively after two days of vacation (baseline), before and at the end of the monitored workshift, in the second part of the workweek. Median airborne levels during the workshift of 15 PAHs (both vapour and particulate phases), from naphthalene to indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, ranged from below 0.03 to 426 ng/m3. Median excretion values of OH-Py in baseline, before- and end-shift samples were 228, 402 and 690 ng/L for AW and 260, 304 and 378 ng/L for CW. Lower values were found in non-smokers compared to smokers (e.g. in asphalt workers 565 and 781 vs. 252 and 506 ng/L in before-shift and end-shift samples, respectively). In all subjects a weak correlation between personal exposure to the sum of airborne 15 PAHs and OH-Py was observed (r = 0.30). The results of this study show that AW experienced a moderate occupational exposure to airborne PAHs, resulting in a significant increase of urinary OH-Py during the workday and the workweek. The contribution of working activities to internal dose was in the same order of magnitude of the contribution of cigarette smoking.