Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene as a biomarker of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsexposure of workers on a contaminated site: Influence of exposure conditions

The aim of the study was to determine the exposure levels of workers to pol ycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on gasworks sites by the measurement of urina ry 1-hydroxypyrene. Start-shift and end-shift urine samples were taken ever y day during an entire week (Monday to Friday), once in November and a seco nd time in June. Four groups of workers were selected according to their ac tivity. Increased exposure was only found among volunteers involved in the remediation of a site, 0.16 to 2.31 mu mol/mol creatinine in non-smokers. T he median of the non-smoker referent group was 0.02 mu mol/mol creatinine ( 95 % confidence interval, 0.01 to 0.04), Smelters had greater exposure leve ls than non-smokers in every group, Within and between variability was arou nd 200 %, Assessment of the exposure of persons on contaminated soil is pos sible, with the condition that the exposed subjects come in direct contact with the soil.