Evaluation of worker exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

A sampling and analytical method was selected to determine the physical and chemical nature of worker exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). It consists of filter and sorbent tube sampling followed by benzene extraction and analysis of 12 different PAHs with a gas chromatograph connected to a mass spectrometer. This method has undergone extensive field trials. Sampling temperature, inorganic and organic interferences have an effect on the results as they do on the standard gravimetric method of benzene-solubles. A combination of the gravimetric method and the particulate and gaseous concentration profile of 12 PAHs is necessary to obtain an informative evaluation of worker exposure. This approach was used to demonstrate that workers in paving and roofing operations and on some worksites in the steel and silicon carbide industries show an exposure profile that suggests minimal health risk and is largely different from the exposure of workers in aluminum refineries, refractory brick laying and most other worksites in the silicon carbide industry.