Environmental benzene exposure assessment for parent–child pairs in Rouen, France

Abstract

There is a lack of data on environmental benzene exposure in children. In this study, we compared personal benzene exposure and inhalation uptake in a group of children to those of their parents. We also compared levels of urinary benzene metabolites, trans,trans-muconic acid (MA) and hydroquinone (HQ), for those two groups, and assessed the correlation between personal benzene exposure and urinary MA and HQ concentrations. The study was performed on 21, 2-3-year-old children and their parents recruited on a voluntary basis among non-smokers from the three largest day-care centers of the town of Rouen in France. Average benzene concentrations were measured over 5 consecutive days with diffusive samplers. The following simultaneous measurements were carried out: personal exposure of the parents, concentrations inside and outside the day care centers, and inside the volunteer's bedrooms. Morning and evening urine samples were collected during the same period. Benzene personal exposure levels were 14.4+/-7.7 microg/m(3) and 11.09+/-6.15 microg/m(3) in parents and children, respectively. Benzene inhalation uptake estimates were 2.51+/-1.23 microg/kg/day in the group of parents and 5.68+/-3.17 microg/kg/day in the group of children. Detectable levels of MA and HQ were found in 85% and 100% of the samples, respectively. Intra-individual variation of urinary MA and HQ concentrations expressed as a coefficient of variation (CV) ranged from 63 to 232% and from 13 to 144%, respectively. Mean values of MA and HQ (in mg/g creatinine) were 1.6- and 1.8-fold higher in the group of children than in the group of parents (P=0.008 and P<0.0001, respectively). Significant correlations between metabolites levels and benzene were not found.

An analysis of factors that influence personal exposure to toluene and xylene in residents of Athens, Greece

“…This analytical method has been described in detail elsewhere [ 15 ]; its detection limit is 0.2 μg/m 3 . The overall reliability of the sampling device has been judged as excellent by the European Reference Laboratory for Air Pollution (ERLAP) of the Joint Research Centre of Ispra and the sampler has been widely used [ 16 , 17 ]. Measurements with these samplers performed contemporaneously with ours gave comparable results [ 9 , 13 ].…”

Measurement of air exchange rates in different indoor environments using continuous CO2 sensors

“…However, most people, especially the most susceptible individuals, e.g., the elderly and children, spend the most time indoors (Abt et al, 2000;Kouniali et al, 2003;Bai et al, 2007), thus it is likely that a substantial fraction of exposure to outdoor air pollutants occurs while people stay indoors. Currently, however, it is not possible to measure the concentrations of indoor air pollutants from outdoor sources directly, making it difficult to accurately interpret the health risk estimates associated with outdoor/ambient air pollution found in numerous epidemiological studies.…”

Integrated exposure for risk assessment in indoor environments based on a review of concentration data on airborne chemical pollutants in domestic environments in Europe

“…In Rouen, France, benzene was measured on 5 consecutive days in the homes of 21 non-smoking parents with children aged 2–3 years. 71 This study assessed personal exposure of children to benzene by computing time weighted averages of exposures in bedroom, day care centre and outside, together with simultaneous collection of urine samples. The average concentration in children’s bedrooms was 10.9 µg/m 3 .…”