State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2012 Aug 1;431:245-51. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.05.059. Epub 2012 Jun 9.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with inhalable particles are harmful to human health, especially to people in urban indoor environments. To evaluate human respiratory exposure to indoor PAHs properly, respiratory deposition fluxes of size-fractioned PAHs were estimated based on size-segregated distribution of PAHs in indoor air of an urban community of Guangzhou, China. The concentrations of ∑(16)PAH (sum of the 16 priority PAHs designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency) were 28.9±10.0 ng/m(3), with the mean benzo(a)pyrene equivalent (BaPE) concentration at 4.1±1.6 ng/m(3). Particle size distributions of both ∑(16)PAH and BaPE concentrations peaked in the 1.0-1.8 μm fraction. The mean respiratory deposition flux of ∑(16)PAH was 5.9 ng/h, and accumulation mode particles contributed 20.5-83.8% of the respiratory deposition fluxes for individual PAHs. In addition, 8.6-10.2% of inhaled ∑(16)PAH were calculated to be deposited in the alveoli region, with accumulation particles as the largest contributor. In particular, ultrafine particles contributed 0.4-21.7% of individual PAHs deposited in the alveoli region, more than twice the fraction of the PAHs in the ultrafine particles (0.2-8.5%). Finally, lifetime cancer risk via inhalation of indoor particulate PAHs may be greater than the cancer risk guideline value (10(-6)), depending on specific assumptions used in this risk assessment.
多环芳烃（PAHs）与可吸入颗粒物有关，对人类健康有害，尤其是对城市室内环境中的人们。为了正确评估人体对室内 PAHs 的呼吸暴露，根据中国广州市一个城市社区室内空气中 PAHs 的粒径分布，估算了不同粒径分级 PAHs 的呼吸沉积通量。∑（16）PAH（美国环保署指定的 16 种优先 PAHs 的总和）浓度为 28.9±10.0ng/m³，平均苯并（a）芘等效浓度（BaPE）为 4.1±1.6ng/m³。∑（16）PAH 和 BaPE 浓度的粒径分布均在 1.0-1.8μm 分段达到峰值。∑（16）PAH 的平均呼吸沉积通量为 5.9ng/h，积聚模态颗粒对各 PAHs 的呼吸沉积通量的贡献为 20.5-83.8%。此外，8.6-10.2%的吸入∑（16）PAH 被计算为沉积在肺泡区域，积聚颗粒是最大的贡献者。特别是，超细颗粒对沉积在肺泡区域的各 PAHs 的贡献为 0.4-21.7%，超过了超细颗粒中 PAHs 的分数（0.2-8.5%）的两倍。最后，取决于本风险评估中使用的具体假设，通过吸入室内颗粒态 PAHs 而导致的终生癌症风险可能大于癌症风险指导值（10⁻⁶）。
