You are here:
MEASUREMENT OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS) ASSOCIATED WITH FINE PARTICULATE MATTER TO ESTIMATE STATEWIDE CUMULATIVE EXPOSURES IN NORTH CAROLINA
Citation:
FUNK, W. E., S. M. RAPPAPORT, M. CLARK, AND J. D. PLEIL. MEASUREMENT OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS) ASSOCIATED WITH FINE PARTICULATE MATTER TO ESTIMATE STATEWIDE CUMULATIVE EXPOSURES IN NORTH CAROLINA. Presented at Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC, March 25 - 29, 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
Objectives for this task include the following:
o Investigate the current research on biomarkers of exposure for humans (ILSI documents).
o Develop better measurement methods and procedures for collecting biomarkers of exposure in human research studies.
o Conduct advanced statistical analyses on existing urinary biomarker data generated from EPA funded studies.
o Identify and provide valuable data inputs for modelers in their toxicokinetic and exposure models.
o Use modeling tools to understand the exposures of humans to chemicals related to biomarkers of exposure.
o Form a collaborative partnership with CDC to develop analytical methods for chemicals used as biomarkers of exposure in humans.
o Develop statistical methods and models to assess human exposures to chemicals of concern.
Description:
Airborne particulate matter (PM) is routinely collected at over a thousand air monitoring stations across the nation using Teflon filters. After they are weighed to measure the amount of PM in the air, the filters are stored in refrigerators and, after a year, are thrown away. Three years ago, scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the university of North Carolina jointly developed a method for using these stored filters for the additional job of measuring the levels of several carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are bound to the particles. We have now used archived filters from the state of North Carolina to start to assess the potential incremental cancer risk from the cumulative exposures from PAHs across the state. This methodology can be easily and cost effectively implemented in other states across the country using such archived filters.