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Sugar cane burning in Brazil causes remarkable amounts of organic compounds to be emitted amongst which the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represent serious health hazards.Therefore, twenty-four hour aerosol samples (< 10 m aerodynamic diameter) were collected in Araraquara city (São Paulo state) during the harvest season using a Hi-Vol sampler. PAHs were recovered using an Accelerated Solvent Extractor and analyzed by low pressure-gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry (LP-GC-ITMS). The fully automated extraction process was performed in less than 25 min with a solvent consumption of approximately 20 mL.The use of a deactivated 0.6 m x 0.10 mm ID restrictor coupled to a 10 m wide-bore analytical column allowed most of the 16 PAHs in EPA's priority list to be identified and quantified in only 13 min. Concentrations of PAHs in Araraquara aerosols ranged between 0.5 ng m -3 and 8.6 ng m -3 .

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Objectives-To measure the impact of occupational and lifestyle factors on concentrations of organochlorine compounds in a general population sample living near an electrochemical factory with a high airborne concentration of hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Methods-Serum samples from 608 people (328 selected from a random sample) were collected in 1994. Information on lifestyles, occupation, and medical condition was obtained by questionnaire. Results-HCB and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected in all samples (means 36.7 ng/ml and 4.3 ng/ml respectively), followed by dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethane (DDE) and -hexachlorocyclohexane ( -HCH), found in 98.7% and 87.3% of the samples respectively (means 4.6 ng/ml and 2.5 ng/ml, respectively). Concentrations of HCB were the highest ever reported. Occupation in the factory was the main determinant of the variation in concentrations of HCB (regression coeYcients 1.52 (SEM 0.14) in ln (HCB) for workers in the production department, and 2.13 (0.23) for workers in maintenance department) and explained the highest concentrations of HCB found in men of middle age. In retired workers, concentrations of HCB declined with time since retirement. The PCBs, dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), and -HCH were independent of the occupation and concentrations were similar to those found in other populations. Concentrations of -HCH and DDE in the whole population, and HCB among non-workers, were higher in women than in men. Concentrations of all measured organochlorine compounds increased with age and body mass index. Consumption of locally caught fish was an independent determinant of HCB and PCB concentrations.Conclusions-This population incorporated HCB directly through occupation in the electrochemical factory, by airborne pollution, and consumption of locally caught fish. Concentrations of other common organochlorine compounds were not higher than expected. Environmental exposures to these compounds deserve attention due to their persistence and potential health eVects. (Occup Environ Med 1999;56:152-158)

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