TY - JOUR
T1 - Heavy Exposure of Waste Collectors to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in a Poor Rural Area of Middle China
AU - Zheng, Jianheng
AU - Zheng, Weiwei
AU - Zhou, Ying
AU - Jiang, Songhui
AU - Spencer, Peter
AU - Ye, Weimin
AU - Zheng, Yuxin
AU - He, Gengsheng
AU - Qu, Weidong
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2018/8/7
Y1 - 2018/8/7
N2 - Manual collection and open-air incineration of waste materials is a common practice in rural regions of China and beyond. Low-temperature combustion of rubber and plastic waste generates high levels of airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We investigated ten urinary hydroxylated PAH metabolites (OH-PAHs), the oxidative damage biomarker (8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine, 8-OHdG), and four serum biomarkers including gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in 41 waste collectors and 122 control subjects residing in the same or a distant rural village in Henan Province. The level of PAH metabolites in urine (median: 17.24 μg/g Cre) was twice that of controls living in the same area without an occupational history involving waste collection (median: 8.16 μg/g Cre) and thrice that of controls living 30 km away (median: 6.07 μg/g Cre). The concentrations of OH-PAHs were positively associated with urinary 8-OHdG levels (β = 0.283, p < 0.05). Serum GGT and ALT were slightly increased in waste collectors. Urinary 8-OHdG levels were similar in one-year and longer-term workers, suggesting that rubber and plastic waste collection/incineration carries a high PAH exposure risk. These data provide solid baseline information, emphasizing the importance of monitoring the long-term health outcomes of waste collectors and changes in exposure patterns associated with rural development and regulation of waste disposal.
AB - Manual collection and open-air incineration of waste materials is a common practice in rural regions of China and beyond. Low-temperature combustion of rubber and plastic waste generates high levels of airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We investigated ten urinary hydroxylated PAH metabolites (OH-PAHs), the oxidative damage biomarker (8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine, 8-OHdG), and four serum biomarkers including gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in 41 waste collectors and 122 control subjects residing in the same or a distant rural village in Henan Province. The level of PAH metabolites in urine (median: 17.24 μg/g Cre) was twice that of controls living in the same area without an occupational history involving waste collection (median: 8.16 μg/g Cre) and thrice that of controls living 30 km away (median: 6.07 μg/g Cre). The concentrations of OH-PAHs were positively associated with urinary 8-OHdG levels (β = 0.283, p < 0.05). Serum GGT and ALT were slightly increased in waste collectors. Urinary 8-OHdG levels were similar in one-year and longer-term workers, suggesting that rubber and plastic waste collection/incineration carries a high PAH exposure risk. These data provide solid baseline information, emphasizing the importance of monitoring the long-term health outcomes of waste collectors and changes in exposure patterns associated with rural development and regulation of waste disposal.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85049661061&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85049661061&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.8b02024
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.8b02024
M3 - Article
C2 - 29963854
AN - SCOPUS:85049661061
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 52
SP - 8866
EP - 8875
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 15
ER -