Department of Hygiene, Social and Environmental Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2012 Jan-Feb;22(1):46-51. doi: 10.1038/jes.2011.33. Epub 2011 Oct 5.
Among a health cooperation project, we had the opportunity to study the internal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure of residents from urban and rural areas in Afghanistan. Urine samples from 13 children (age 2.0-9 years) and 42 adults (age 20-65 years) were collected. A total of 25 participants were from Kabul, and 30 participants lived in a rural area. The determination of 1-hydroxypyrene and hydroxyphenanthrenes was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection. Median (range) were as follows (n=55): 1-hydroxypyrene 1646 ng/l (71-16,288 ng/l) and sum of 1-, 2- and 9-, 3-, 4-OH-phenanthrenes 3602 ng/l (116-19,670 ng/l). These results indicate a high PAH exposure, compared with the general population in more developed countries. The levels of 1-hydroxypyrene in urine of women (all non-smokers) from the rural area were higher than those from Kabul (N, median, range): rural 15, 2095, 334-11,357 ng/l; Kabul 11, 748,137-5332 ng/l. All households from the rural area used open fires for cooking and energy. We conclude that populations in low-developed countries may be at special risk to increased PAH exposure due to inadequate control of air pollution from car emissions and due to burning of biomass fuels for cooking and household energy.
在一个卫生合作项目中，我们有机会研究阿富汗城乡居民体内的多环芳烃（PAH）暴露情况。采集了 13 名儿童（2.0-9 岁）和 42 名成年人（20-65 岁）的尿液样本。共有 25 名参与者来自喀布尔，30 名参与者居住在农村地区。采用高效液相色谱和荧光检测法测定 1-羟基芘和 1-羟基菲的含量。中位数（范围）如下（n=55）：1-羟基芘 1646ng/l（71-16288ng/l）和 1-、2-和 9-、3-、4-羟基菲的总和 3602ng/l（116-19670ng/l）。与更发达的国家的一般人群相比，这些结果表明存在较高的 PAH 暴露。农村地区（所有不吸烟的女性）尿液中 1-羟基芘的水平高于喀布尔地区（N、中位数、范围）：农村地区 15、2095、334-11357ng/l；喀布尔地区 11、748、137-5332ng/l。农村地区所有家庭都使用明火做饭和取暖。我们得出结论，由于汽车排放物引起的空气污染控制不足，以及用于烹饪和家庭能源的生物量燃料燃烧，欠发达国家的居民可能面临 PAH 暴露增加的特殊风险。
