Characterization of Environmental Health Inequalities Due to Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure in France

Reducing environmental health inequalities has become a major focus of public health efforts in France, as evidenced by the French action plans for health and the environment. To evaluate environmental inequalities, routine monitoring networks provide a valuable source of data on environmental contamination, which can be used in integrated assessments, to identify overexposed populations and prioritize actions. However, available databases generally do not meet sufficient spatial representativeness to characterize population exposure, as they are usually not assembled for this specific purpose. The aim of this study was to develop geoprocessing procedures and statistical methods to build spatial environmental variables (water, air, soil, and food pollutant concentrations) at a fine resolution, and provide appropriate input for the exposure modelling. Those methods were designed to combine in situ monitoring data with correlated auxiliary information (for example, atmospheric emissions, population, and altitude), in order to better represent the variability of the environmental compartment quality. The MODUL’ERS multimedia exposure model developed by INERIS (French Institute for industrial Environment and Risks) was then used to assess the transfer of substances from the environment to humans, through inhalation and ingestion pathway characterization. We applied the methodology to a carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon substance, benzo[a]pyrene(B[a]P), to map spatialized exposure indicators, at the national scale. The largest environmental contribution corresponded to the ingestion pathway. Data processing algorithms and calculation of exposure will be integrated into the French coordinated integrated environment and health platform PLAINE (PLteforme intégrée d’Analyse des INégalités Environnementales) which has been developed to map and analyze environmental health inequalities.

Urinary 1-Hydroxypyrene as a Biomarker to Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure

In order to capture the extent of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), various biomarkers have been employed. The biomarkers employed for PAHs include PAHs genetoxic end points in lymphocytes, urinary metabolites, PAH-DNA adducts, and PAH-Protein adducts. Of these, excretory 1-hydroxypyene, a metabolite of pyrene, has been used extensively as a biological monitoring indicator of exposure to PAHs. This study attempts to assess the level of this biomarker in the body fluid of 68 exposed subjects using high performance liquid chromatography HPLC. The subjects screened included auto mechanics, drivers, and fuel attendants. 1-hydroxypyrene was extracted from the urine of the subjects using solid phase extraction method. The HPLC analysis was done in isocratic mode using water:methanol (12:88 v/v) mobile phase. The stationary phase was XBridge C18 (150 × 4.6 mm) 5 μm column. The wavelength was 250 nm at a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min. The oven temperature was 30 °C and the injection volume was 20 μL. The run time was 3 minutes. The level of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene detected varied for the different categories of occupation studied. About 27% of sampled fuel attendants and 22% of auto mechanics had detectable 1-hydroxypyrene in their urine samples. There was no detectable 1-hydroxypyene in the urine samples of commercial drivers or in the urine samples of students used as controls. The results of this study showed that fuel attendants and auto mechanics have significant exposures to PAHs. So far, there is no established benchmark for level of PAHs in urine, but our findings indicate the possibility of future cancer cases in this population as a result of their occupational exposure. The study was not able to link the level of 1-hydroxypyene with the smoking habits of the subjects.