APPROACHES TO THE ESTIMATION OF CANCER RISK FROM INGESTED PAH

The sum of eight carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) F rom food in three total diet studies has ranged from 1.45 to 3.50 mu g /person/day. The effect of different approaches to the estimation of p ossible human cancer risk of food borne sources of PAH was illustrated by combining United Kingdom (UK) intake data with cancer potency info rmation in four different ways. The lifetime cancer risk from this lev el of exposure, based on the sum of risk from individual PAH was estim ated to be 5.1 x 10(-5) or 8.2 x 10(-7) for cancer potencies based on rodent studies and human inhalation data respectively. When benzo[a]py rene was used as a surrogate for the cancer risk of a PAH containing m ixture, the risk was estimated at 1.3 x 10(-3) or 1.1 x 10(-5). Variat ion in dietary intake is small compared with the variation in cancer p otency data presently available for risk assessment of PAH from dietar y sources.