Zhao Ke-Xin, Jiang Chao, Han Yue, Li Wen-Long, Li Yu-Wei, Liu Li-Yan, Ma Wan-Li, Hu Ying-Hua, Zhang Zi-Feng
International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment/School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin 150090, China.
International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), Heilongjiang Institute of Labor Hygiene and Occupational Diseases/The Second Hospital of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin 150028, China.
Environ Health (Wash). 2024 Jan 31;2(3):150-160. doi: 10.1021/envhealth.3c00164. eCollection 2024 Mar 15.
The hazards of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on occupationally exposed population have been widely acknowledged. However, the occupational exposure risks associated their derivatives, methylated PAHs, remain poorly understood. This study conducted a screen of 126 PAHs and 6 oxidative stress biomarkers (OSBs) in paired serum-urine samples from 110 petrochemical workers to assess the risk associated with different PAHs exposure. The results showed that the median concentrations of unmetabolized 16 priority PAHs (p-PAHs), 16 regular PAHs (R-PAHs), 50 methyl-PAHs (Me-PAHs), and 30 nitro-PAHs (N-PAHs) in serum (urine) were 97.98 (66.46), 11.02 (0.00), 77.76 (31.77), and 1.93 (0.10) ng/mL, respectively. The median concentration of metabolized hydroxy PAHs (OH-PAHs) in urine was 12.00 ng/mL (9.49 ng/mg creatinine). OSBs indicate that the hazards of Me-PAHs on exposed populations manifest as protein damage, while the hazards of p-PAHs mainly result in lipid and DNA damage. Results from common diseases and PAH exposure demonstrate a correlation between liver damage and PAH exposure, and Me-PAHs are more difficult to metabolize through urine due to their stronger lipophilicity. This study suggests that traditional health screenings targeting p-PAHs may be insufficient and likely underestimate the exposure risks for occupational populations.
多环芳烃（PAHs）对职业暴露人群的危害已得到广泛认可。然而，与其衍生物甲基化多环芳烃相关的职业暴露风险仍知之甚少。本研究对110名石化工人的配对血清 - 尿液样本中的126种多环芳烃和6种氧化应激生物标志物（OSBs）进行了筛查，以评估与不同多环芳烃暴露相关的风险。结果显示，血清（尿液）中未代谢的16种优先多环芳烃（p - PAHs）、16种常规多环芳烃（R - PAHs）、50种甲基多环芳烃（Me - PAHs）和30种硝基多环芳烃（N - PAHs）的中位浓度分别为97.98（66.46）、11.02（0.00）、77.76（31.77）和1.93（0.10）ng/mL。尿液中代谢后的羟基多环芳烃（OH - PAHs）的中位浓度为12.00 ng/mL（9.49 ng/mg肌酐）。氧化应激生物标志物表明，甲基多环芳烃对暴露人群的危害表现为蛋白质损伤，而优先多环芳烃的危害主要导致脂质和DNA损伤。常见疾病与多环芳烃暴露的结果表明，肝脏损伤与多环芳烃暴露之间存在相关性，并且甲基多环芳烃由于其更强的亲脂性而更难通过尿液代谢。本研究表明，针对优先多环芳烃的传统健康筛查可能不足，可能低估了职业人群的暴露风险。
