Tsai Perng-Jy, Shih Tung-Sheng, Chen Hsiao-Lung, Lee Wen-Jhy, Lai Ching-Huang, Liou Saou-Hsing
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, 138 Sheng-Li Road, Tainan 704, Taiwan.
Environ Sci Technol. 2004 Jan 1;38(1):56-61. doi: 10.1021/es030588k.
In this study, 32 booth attendants (the exposure group) and 21 in pre-job training to become booth attendants (the reference group) were randomly selected from a highway toll station. Personal PAH samplings were conducted on the exposure group on each day during the studied workweek. Pre-shift urinary 1-hydroxylpyrene levels (1-OHP) were measured on the first day of the workweek (BM(pre)) for both the exposure and reference groups, but the post-shift 1-OHP levels were measured on the last day of the workweek (BM(pest)) only for the exposure group. For the exposure group, we found that their mean total PAH exposure level (C(total PAHs)) was 11 400 ng/m3 and that their mean BM(post) was significantly higher than their mean BM(pre) (= 3.02 and 0.910 micromol of 1-OHP/mol of creatinine, respectively). In addition, the mean BM(pre) for the exposure group were higher than that for the reference group (= 0.410 micromol of 1-OHP/mol of creatinine). The above results suggest that vehicle exhaust significantly affects the booth attendants' 1-OHP levels. None of the three personal factors (age, work experience, and smoking habit), except for C(total PAHs), had a significant effect on predicting booth attendants' BM(inc) levels (= BM(post) - BM(pre)) (R2 = 0.57). The above results suggest that urinary 1-OHP could be a suitable biomarker for characterizing workers' PAH exposures. Similarly, we found that none of the three personal characteristics, except for the involved vehicle flow rates and vehicle types, had a significant effect on predicting booth attendants' BM(inc), levels (R2 = 0.60). The above result suggests that the traffic densities of various traffic types could be a suitable surrogate indicator for assessing workers' PAH exposures. Considering that the type of traffic designed for a given type of tollbooth is quite similar all over the world, the results obtained from this study, at least, could be served as a stepping-stone for providing a cheaper and convenient way for assessing traffic PAH exposures in the future.
在本研究中，从一个公路收费站随机选取了32名收费站工作人员（暴露组）和21名正在接受岗前培训以成为收费站工作人员的人员（参照组）。在研究工作周的每一天，对暴露组进行个人多环芳烃采样。在工作周的第一天（班前），对暴露组和参照组均测量班前尿中1-羟基芘水平（1-OHP），但仅对暴露组在工作周的最后一天（班后）测量班后1-OHP水平。对于暴露组，我们发现他们的平均总多环芳烃暴露水平（C（总多环芳烃））为11400 ng/m³，且他们的平均班后1-OHP水平显著高于平均班前水平（分别为3.02和0.910微摩尔1-OHP/摩尔肌酐）。此外，暴露组的平均班前1-OHP水平高于参照组（0.410微摩尔1-OHP/摩尔肌酐）。上述结果表明，汽车尾气显著影响收费站工作人员的1-OHP水平。除C（总多环芳烃）外，三个个人因素（年龄、工作经验和吸烟习惯）均对预测收费站工作人员的班后增加1-OHP水平（=班后1-OHP水平-班前1-OHP水平）无显著影响（R² = 0.57）。上述结果表明，尿中1-OHP可能是表征工人多环芳烃暴露的合适生物标志物。同样，我们发现，除所涉及的车流量和车辆类型外，三个个人特征均对预测收费站工作人员的班后增加1-OHP水平无显著影响（R² = 0.60）。上述结果表明，各种交通类型的交通密度可能是评估工人多环芳烃暴露的合适替代指标。考虑到世界各地为特定类型收费站设计的交通类型相当相似，本研究获得的结果至少可以作为未来提供一种更便宜、方便的评估交通多环芳烃暴露方法的垫脚石。
