Human Exposure to Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (1976)

This paper compiled existing measurements and estimates of human exposure to polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). It used benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) as an index compound and compared each source with cigarette smoking. In data compiled by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, eight-hour average BaP exposures for coke oven workers ranged from 7 to 18 micrograms per cubic meter, and airline pilots experienced about 0.1. A 1972 National Academy of Sciences report estimated that a one-pack-per-day smoker inhaled about 0.7 micrograms of BaP daily from unfiltered cigarettes and about 0.4 from filtered ones. Schmeltz and colleagues (1975) summarized indoor BaP concentrations of up to 0.14 micrograms per cubic meter of air in a restaurant and 0.02 to 0.16 in a Kenyan hut. The authors concluded that some workers have exposures orders of magnitude greater than smokers, that indoor exposure may be substantial, and that total exposure on and off the job should be considered. They called their approach simplistic and noted that BaP is a poor stand-in for all PAH.

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From J-M's medical library

This copy comes from the Johns-Manville medical library. It was among the papers J-M kept in its medical library without an index entry.

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