URINARY 1-HYDROXYPYRENE LEVEL AS A BIOMARKER - HUMAN EXPOSURE TO AMBIENT POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS IN CHINA

The presence of 1-hydroxypyrene in human urine was confirmed with gas chromatography/mass spectrography. Moreover, a comparative study was m ade on the database of measurements of the level of urinary 1-hydroxyp yrene of young residents in 11 Chinese cities, which revealed that the significant variation of urinary content of 1-hydroxypyrene was well correlated with the extent of pollution of the ambient air by polycycl ic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the urban environment. It was also demonstrated that the concentration of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene varied significantly from population to population with different occupations , for various degrees of exposure to environmental PAHs. Data showed t hat the concentration of 1-hydroxypyrene in human urine correlated pos itively with the content of BaP in the ambient air. Considering these facts, it is proposed that urinary 1-hydroxypyrene be adopted as a bio marker for human exposure to the environmental PAHs. The role of this sensitive and reliable biomarker in environmental risk assessment is a lso discussed.