Association between cancer risk and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons’ exposure in the ambient air of Ahvaz, southwest of Iran

Abstract

Nowadays, a large number of health endpoints such as disease rates, treatment costs, and death, by air pollutants, have been a serious health problem for humans. One of the most hazardous air pollutants, which is highly dangerous for human health, is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The existence of the emission of industries' pollutants and seasonal variations are the primary agents affecting PAHs' concentration. The purposes of this study were to calculate the cancer risk and measure PAHs' exposure in the ambient air of Ahvaz, southwest of Iran, during 2017. Three distinct areas ((S1) industrial, (S2) high traffic, and (S3) residential) of Ahvaz metropolitan were selected. Omni sampler equipped with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filters were used for active sampling of PAHs. To detect the level of PAHs, gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used. Incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) and lifetime average daily dose (LADD) were used to estimate the health risk caused by PAHs. The results showed that the residential and industrial areas had the lowest and highest level of PAHs. Moreover, the average levels of PAHs in industrial, high traffic, and residential areas were 8.44 ± 3.37, 7.11 ± 2.64, and 5.52 ± 1.63 ng m, respectively. Furthermore, ILCR in autumn and winter was higher than EPA standard, 0.06307 and 0.04718, respectively. In addition, ILCR in different areas was significantly higher than standard. Research findings imply that the levels of exposure to PAHs can increase ILCR and risk of health endpoint. The cancer risk attributed to PAHs should be further investigated from the perspective of the public health in metropolitans.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Air Pollution: A Review

“…In the world (United States, Europe, and Asia), several studies have reported the effects of air pollution on human health. The results of these studies showed that higher concentrations of PM 10 , O 3 , NO 2 , SO 2 , metals, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can increase the risk of morbidity and mortality due to respi-ratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma attacks, coughing, reduced lung function, eye irritation, cardiovascular disease, stroke, respiratory and cardiovascular death) (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20).…”

“…There are reports on the considerable toxicity of airborne metals to the lung (39). Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of hydrocarbons that are composed of multiple aromatic rings (16). Human exposure to PAHs can cause different health effects (15,16).…”

Human Skin Reflects Air Pollution – a Review of the Mechanisms and Clinical Manifestations of Environment-Derived Skin Pathologies

“…Among POPs, PAHs are lipophilic and can easily infiltrate skin cells, binding to DNA and causing its damage [19]. Hence, these air pollutants are recognized as mutagens and/or carcinogens [124,127]. Airborne metals are not biodegradable; they remain in cells for a long time and act as genotoxic agents, impairing the skin DNA repair capacity [128].…”

Estimation of lung and bronchial cancer registry completeness via capture-recapture method using population-based cancer registry in Khuzestan province in 2011

“…1 Cancer by the new cases of 14 million and the annual mortality of 8.2 million is the second leading cause for mortality after cardiovascular diseases in the world. [2][3][4][5][6] Lung cancer is the most fatal and expensive cancer worldwide. 7 Among the various cancers, lung is only the cancer which has different incidences in Iran and world 8 and undoubtedly its incidence in Iran has had an underestimation.…”