In Xuan Wei County, Yunnan Province, lung cancer mortality is among China's highest and, especially in females, is more closely associated with indoor burning of "smoky" coal, as opposed to wood or "smokeless" coal, than with tobacco smoking. Indoor air samples were collected during the burning of all three fuels. In contrast to wood and smokeless coal emissions, smoky coal emission has high concentrations of submicron particles containing mutagenic organics, especially in aromatic and polar fractions. These studies suggested an etiologic link between domestic smoky coal burning and lung cancer in Xuan Wei.

In the summer of 1997, we measured the aggregate exposures of nine preschool children, aged 2-5 years, to a suite of organic pesticides and other persistent organic pollutants that are commonly found in the home and school environment. The children attended either of two child day care centers in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area of North Carolina and were in day care at least 25 h/week. Over a 48-h period, we sampled indoor and outdoor air, play area soil and floor dust, as well as duplicate diets, hand surface wipes, and urine for each child at day care and at home. Our target analytes were several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), organochlorine pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB); two organophosphate pesticides (chlorpyrifos and diazinon), the lawn herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), three phenols (pentachlorophenol (PCP), nonyl phenols, and bisphenol-A), 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP), and two phthalate esters (benzylbutyl and dibutyl phthalate). In urine, our target analytes were hydroxy-PAH, TCP, 2,4-D, and PCP. To allow estimation of each child's aggregate exposures over the 48-h sampling period, we also used time-activity diaries, which were filled out by each child's teacher at day care and the parent or other primary caregiver at home. In addition, we collected detailed household information that related to potential sources of exposure, such as pesticide use or smoking habits, through questionnaires and field observation. We found that the indoor exposures were greater than those outdoors, that exposures at day care and at home were of similar magnitudes, and that diet contributed greatly to the exposures. The children's potential aggregate doses, calculated from our data, were generally well below established reference doses (RfDs) for those compounds for which RfDs are available.

No abstract

As part of the Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants (CTEPP) study, we investigated the exposures of preschool children to chlorpyrifos and its degradation product 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) in their everyday environments. During this study, the participants were still able to purchase and apply chlorpyrifos at their homes or day care centers. Participants were recruited randomly from 129 homes and 13 day care centers in six North Carolina counties. Monitoring was performed over a 48-h period at the children's homes and/or day care centers. Samples that were collected included duplicate plate, indoor and outdoor air, urine, indoor floor dust, play area soil, transferable residues (PUF roller), and surface wipes (hand, food preparation, and hard floor). The samples were extracted and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Chlorpyrifos was detected in 100% of the indoor air and indoor floor dust samples from homes and day care centers. TCP was detected at homes and day care centers in 100% of the indoor floor dust and hard floor surface wipe, in >97% of the solid food, and in >95% of the indoor air samples. Generally, median levels of chlorpyrifos were higher than those of TCP in all media, except for solid food samples. For these samples, the median TCP concentrations were 12 and 29 times higher than the chlorpyrifos concentrations at homes and day care centers, respectively. The median urinary TCP concentration for the preschool children was 5.3 ng/ml and the maximum value was 104 ng/ml. The median potential aggregate absorbed dose (ng/kg/day) of chlorpyrifos for these preschool children was estimated to be 3 ng/kg/day. The primary route of exposure to chlorpyrifos was through dietary intake, followed by inhalation. The median potential aggregate absorbed dose of TCP for these children was estimated to be 38 ng/kg/day, and dietary intake was the primary route of exposure. The median excreted amount of urinary TCP for these children was estimated to be 117 ng/kg/day. A full regression model of the relationships among chlorpyrifos and TCP for the children in the home group explained 23% of the variability of the urinary TCP concentrations by the three routes of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, dermal absorption) to chlorpyrifos and TCP. However, a final reduced model via step-wise regression retained only chlorpyrifos through the inhalation route and explained 22% of the variability of TCP in the children's urine. The estimated potential aggregate absorbed doses of chlorpyrifos through the inhalation route were low (median value, 0.8 ng/kg/day) and could not explain most of the excreted amounts of urinary TCP. This suggested that there were other possible sources and pathways of exposure that contributed to the estimated potential aggregate absorbed doses of these children to chlorpyrifos and TCP. One possible pathway of exposure that was not accounted for fully is through the children's potential contacts with contaminated surfaces at homes and...

The concentrations of a suite of persistent organic chemicals were measured in multiple media in 10 child day care centers located in central North Carolina. Five centers served mainly children from low -income families, as defined by the federal Women, Infants, and Children ( WIC ) assistance program, and five served mainly children from middle -income families. The targeted chemicals were chosen because of their probable carcinogenicity, acute or chronic toxicity, or hypothesized potential for endocrine system disruption. Targeted compounds included polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ( PAHs ), pentachloro -and nonyl -phenol, bisphenol -A, dibutyl and butylbenzyl phthalate, polychlorinated biphenyls ( PCBs ), organochlorine pesticides, the organophosphate pesticides diazinon and chlorpyrifos, and the herbicide 2,4 -dichlorophenoxyacetic acid ( 2,4D ). Sampled media were indoor and outdoor air, food and beverages, indoor dust, and outdoor play area soil. Concentrations of the targeted compounds were determined using a combination of extraction and analysis methods, depending on the media. Analysis was predominantly by gas chromatography / mass spectrometry ( GC / MS ) or gas chromatography with electron capture detection ( GC / ECD ). Concentrations of the targeted pollutants were low and well below the levels generally considered to be of concern as possible health hazards. Potential exposures to the target compounds were estimated from the concentrations in the various media, the children's daily time -activity schedules at day care, and the best currently available estimates of the inhalation rates ( 8.3 m 3 / day ) and soil ingestion rates ( 100 mg / day ) of children ages 3 -5. The potential exposures for the target compounds differed depending on the compound class and the sampled media. Potential exposures through dietary ingestion were greater than those through inhalation, which were greater than those through nondietary ingestion, for the total of all PAHs, the phenols, the organophosphate pesticides, and the organochlorine pesticides. Potential exposures through dietary ingestion were greater than those through nondietary ingestion, which were greater than those through inhalation, for those PAHs that are probable human carcinogens ( B2 PAH ), the phthalate esters, and 2,4D. For the PCBs, exposures through inhalation were greater than those through nondietary ingestion, and exposures through dietary ingestion were smallest. Differences in targeted compound levels between the centers that serve mainly low -income clients and those that serve mainly middle -income clients were small and depended on the compound class and the medium.

Ž. Children in low-income families may have high exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAH . Such exposures could result from household proximity to heavy traffic or industrial sources, environmental tobacco smoke, contaminated house dust or soil, among others. The objectives of this study were: to establish methods for measuring total PAH exposure of children in low-income families, to estimate the PAH exposures of these children, and to estimate the relative importance of the environmental pathways for PAH exposure. Analytical methods to determine PAH in air, dust, soil, and food and to determine hydroxy-PAH in urine samples were evaluated and validated. A two-home pilot study was conducted in downtown Durham, North Carolina Ž . NC during February 1994. One smoker's and one nonsmoker's household, which had preschool children and income at or below the official U.S. poverty level, participated. A nine-home winter and a nine-home summer study were conducted in Durham and the NC Piedmont area during February 1995 and August 1995, respectively. A summer study in four smokers' homes was also conducted. In each of these studies, multimedia samples were collected and analyzed for PAH or hydroxy-PAH. Summary statistics, Pearson correlations, and analysis of variance were performed on the combined data from these four field studies. An effective screening method was established for recruiting low-income families. The field protocol involved measurements of three homes in 2-day periods. This protocol should be suitable for large-scale studies. The results showed that indoor PAH levels were generally higher than outdoor PAH levels. Higher indoor PAH levels were observed in the smokers' homes compared to nonsmokers' homes. Higher outdoor PAH levels were found in inner city as opposed to rural areas. The relative concentration trend for PAH in dust and soil was: house dust ) entryway dust ) pathway soil. The PAH concentrations in adults' food samples were generally higher than those in children's food samples. Children's potential daily doses of PAH were higher than those of adults in the same household, when intakes were normalized to body weights. Inhalation is an important pathway for children's exposure to total PAH because of the high levels of naphthalene present in both indoor and outdoor air. Dietary ingestion and nondietary ingestion Ž pathways became more important for children's exposure to the B2 PAH ranked as probable human carcinogens, B2 by the U.S. EPA's Integrated Risk . System , most of which are of low volatility. The analysis of variance results showed that inner city participants had higher total exposure to B2 PAH than did rural participants.

No abstract

The lung cancer mortality rate in Xuan Wei (XW) county, China, is 5-fold the national average of China; the rate for women is the highest in China. Xuan Wei residents have been exposed to unvented coal or wood smoke during cooking or heating in homes. This study investigated indoor air exposure and dosimetry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in XW residents using smoky coal. Indoor air particles collected during cooking in four XW homes using smoky coal were analyzed for PAHs by GC/MS. Urine samples from 16 XW non-smoking women and six XW smoking men, eight Kunming non-smoking controls and four non-smoking Chinese American controls were analyzed for PAHs and hydroxy-PAHs by GC/MS. The results showed that XW residents were exposed to PAHs at occupational levels. The potent carcinogen, dibenzo[a,l] pyrene (4.9 +/- 1.3 micrograms/m3) was found in the indoor air of the XW homes. The levels of urinary hydroxy-PAH were higher than those of the parent compounds in most subjects, indicating that most PAHs were metabolized. In urine, the mean levels of 9-hydroxy BaP (BaP) and BaP are 1.5 +/- 0.5 mumol/mol creatinine and 0.5 +/- 0.3 microns/mol for XW men, 1.9 +/- 0.9 microns/mol and 0.5 +/- 0.3 microns/mol for XW women. In general, the levels of PAH metabolites in urine were higher in the XW residents than in Kunming and Chinese American controls; however only the concentrations of 9-hydroxy BaP in XW women showed statistically significant difference from the Kunming controls (P < 0.05 by ranking test). The mean levels of 3 methylated-PAHs analyzed were 4.8-fold higher than that of the parent PAHs in XW subjects. This is consistent with previous findings that alkylated PAHs are the major mutagens in the XW indoor air and may be etiologically important in XW lung cancer.