URINARY 1-HYDROXYPYRENE, A PAH BIOMARKER IN FOUNDRY WORKERS

Exposure to PAH in foundry workers has been studied by urinary 1-hydro xypyrene (HPU) levels, quantitatively measured by reversed phase HPLC. Seventy male foundry workers and 68 matched controls were investigate d. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure was defined by 17 br eathing zone hygienic samples, consisting of 16 selected PAH compounds . Mean total PAH concentration (SD) was 10.40 (4.04) mu g/m(3). A mult iple regression model of tobacco consumption, age, airborne PAH-exposu re and foundry work on log HPU showed a significant correlation, p < 0 .001, r(2) = 0.69. Only foundry work (p < 0.0001) and airborne PAH exp osure (p = 0.0478) contributed significantly to the model. These data suggest that HPU is a sensitive biomarker for low-dose PAH exposure.