Citation:

CHUANG, J., N. K. WILSON, M. K. MORGAN, B. LORDO, Y. CHOU, AND L. S. SHELDON. POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON (PAH) EXPOSURE OF 257 PRESCHOOL CHILDREN. Presented at International Society of Exposure Analysis Conference, Tucson, AZ, October 30 - November 03, 2005.

Impact/Purpose:

The overall objectives of CTEPP were to measure the aggregate exposures of approximately 260 preschool children and their adult caregivers to low levels of a suite of pesticides and organic pollutants that the children may encounter in their everyday environments, and to apportion the routes of exposure and estimate the relative contributions of each route.

Description:

We investigated the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure of 257 preschool children and their adult caregivers in their everyday environments. Participants were recruited randomly from eligible homes and daycare centers within six North Carolina (NC) and six Ohio (OH) counties. Monitoring occurred over a 48-hour period at homes and daycare centers from 2000 to 2001. Environmental and personal samples were collected at both locations. Questionnaires and diaries were used to collect information on housing characteristics, products used in homes, and the activities of the participants. Target PAHs were frequently detected (>50%) in dust, soil, floor surface wipe, and transferable residue samples in both NC and OH, in NC air samples, and in OH hand wipe samples. Statistical analyses were performed to compare environmental measurements between home and daycare settings, urban and rural settings, and low-income and middle/high-income environments. Statistically significant findings included the following: (1) PAH loadings in floor dust (ng/m²) averaged higher (>500%) in daycare centers than in homes in both states, (2) PAH dust loadings and concentrations (ng/g) in OH averaged higher (>250%) in urban compared to rural settings, and (3) PAH indoor air and soil concentrations in NC averaged higher (>150% for air and >250% for soil) in low-income compared to middle/high-income environments. Potential exposure/absorbed dose estimates of PAHs for participants through the inhalation and indirect ingestion routes of exposure were also performed. Significant differences were observed primarily with indirect ingestion in OH children, with exposure/dose estimates averaging higher (>200%) for daycare children versus stay-at-home children and urban children versus rural children, and lower (~40%) for low-income versus middle/high-income children. Children were generally exposed to higher levels of PAHs than adults in the same household; this is likely due to different physiological factors (i.e., ventilation rates and body weights) and activity patterns among children and adults.

Although this work was reviewed by EPA and approved for publication, it may not necessarily reflect official Agency policy.

Record Details: