BIOLOGICAL MONITORING OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON EXPOSURE IN A HIGHLY POLLUTED AREA OF POLAND

Air pollution in Poland and particularly in Silesia is among the worst in Europe. Many coal mines and coke oven plants are located in this a rea, representing a major source of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic h ydrocarbons (PAHs). We quantitated the PAH exposure level in air sampl es using personal sampling devices, collected urine samples from the s ame individuals, and measured 1-hydroxypyrene with high performance li quid chromatography. Samples were collected twice, once in February an d once in September. Mean PAH level of samples collected at three diff erent coke oven plants varied from 2.3 mu g/m(3) to 12.3 mu g/m(3); th e lowest mean was in September. Mean levels of 0.15 mu g/(3) (Septembe r) and 0.44 mu g/m(3) (February) were noted for the environmentally ex posed group. Mean urinary 1-hydroxypyrene varied from 2.45 to 13.48 mu mol/mol creatinine at the three coke oven plants. The corresponding v ariation between the three different environmentally exposed groups in Silesia was 0.41-1.54 mu mol/mol creatinine. In the nonindustrialized area, the mean varied from 0.20 to 0.14 mu mol/mol creatinine. Season al variation was found both at the coke oven plants and in the environ mental exposed groups in Silesia. Both PAH levels and 1-hydroxypyrene varied seasonally among coke oven workers and the environmentally expo sed group. Our study shows that PAH exposure in the industrialized are a of Silesia is high compared to levels in Western Europe. 1-Hydroxypy rene excretion in environmentally exposed individuals in Poland is amo ng the highest in Europe.