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AIR LEVELS OF CARCINOGENIC POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS FOLLOWING THE WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER
Citation:
Pleil, J D., A F. Vette, B. A. Johnson, AND S. M. Rappaport. AIR LEVELS OF CARCINOGENIC POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS FOLLOWING THE WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER. PNAS (PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES) 101(32):11685-11688, (2004).
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of this task is to develop state-of-the-art methods for measuring xenobiotic compounds, to include the isolation of the analyte from the appropriate matrix (extraction), preconcentration (typically sorbent-based), and analysis via GC/MS and/or LC/MS. Once established, these methods will be applied in small scale pilot studies or demonstration projects. Particular emphasis will be placed on methods which are readily transferable to other laboratories, including those within the Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD), the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL), other EPA Laboratories, Program Offices, Regions, and academic institutions.
Specific objectives of this task include the following:
1) Development of GC/MS and LC/MS methods for the measurement of key xenobiotic compounds and their metabolites (to include the pyrethroid pesticides, perfluorinated organic compounds, and the BFRs) in relevant environmental and biological matrices.
2) Development of efficient low cost methods for the extraction and clean up of these compounds collected from relevant matrices.
3) Determination of xenobiotic compound and metabolite concentrations in samples derived from laboratory and field monitoring studies to help assess exposures and evaluate associated risks.
Description:
The catastrophic collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001, created an immense dust cloud followed by fires that emitted soot into the air of New York City (NYC) well into December. The subsequent cleanup used diesel equipment that further polluted the air until the following June. The particulate air pollutants contained mutagenic and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). By using an assay developed for archived samples of fine particles, we measured nine PAHs in 243 samples collected at or near Ground Zero from September 23, 2001, to March 27, 2002. Based on temporal trends of individual PAH levels, we differentiated between fire and diesel sources and predicted PAH levels between 3 and 200 d after the disaster. Predicted PAH air concentrations on September 14, 2001, ranged from 1.3 to 15 ng/m3; these values are among the highest reported from outdoor sources. We infer that these high initial air concentrations resulted from fires that rapidly diminished over 100 d. Diesel sources predominated for the next 100 d, during which time PAH levels declined slowly to background values. Because elevated PAH levels were transient, any elevation in cancer risk from PAH exposure should be very small among nonoccupationally exposed residents of NYC. However, the high initial levels of PAHs may be associated with reproductive effects observed in the offspring of women who were (or became) pregnant shortly after September 11, 2001. Because no PAH-specific air sampling was conducted, this work provides the only systematic measurements, to our knowledge, of ambient PAHs after the WTC disaster.
This work is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the University of North Carolina and was supported by National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health Grants P42ES05948 and P30ES10126. The research has been subjected to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency review and approved for publication.