Objectives: To estimate the level of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Japanese children by urinary metabolite analysis and the possible contribution of soil ingestion and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) to PAHs exposure.
Methods: Spot urine samples and questionnaire data were collected from 107 kindergarten children (3–6 yrs) and their mother. The urinary concentration of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), a biomarker of PAHs exposure, was measured using a high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detector.
Results: The geometric mean (GM) of urinary 1-OHP concentrations in children was 0.065 μmol/mol-cre (geometric standard deviation=1.88). Parental smoking and time of playing outside (surrogate of soil exposure level) did not increase urinary 1-OHP level. Maternal urinary 1-OHP concentration correlated with, whereas GM (0.038 μmol/mol-cre) was significantly lower than, the urinary 1-OHP concentration in children. The latter might be attributable to greater amount of food intake per body weight for children than for adult.
Conclusions: The contribution of ETS and soil ingestion to PAHs exposure seemed to be small and thus they cannot be the major source of PAHs in Japanese children.
