pah poisoning 5

8/3/2019 PAH Poisoning 5

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PAH POISONING!

Why Should You Care?Polycyclic Aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – PAHs are known to cause cancers, especially lung and breast cancer. The most common

forms of exposure are either inhaling smoke and fumes (cigarette and wood smoke, vehicle exhaust, coal-tar and asphalt fumes) or

eating grilled meats and processed or pickled foods.

PAHs are one of the most widespread organic pollutants. As a pollutant PAHs are of concern because they have been identified ascarcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic (causing birth defects). PAHs are created as a byproduct of the burning of coal, oil, and

fossil fuels. Often they are of concern in urban areas where there is a higher carbon footprint, and they forms smog and clouds of

yellow smoke over some of our major cities.



Workers in industries or trades using or producing coal or coal products are at highest risk for PAH exposure. Those workers include,

but are not limited to

• aluminum workers,• asphalt workers,

• carbon black workers,

• chimney sweeps,

• coal-gas workers,

• coke oven workers,

• fishermen (coal tar on nets),

• graphite electrode workers,

• machinists,

•

mechanics (auto and diesel engine),• printers,

• road (pavement) workers,

• roofers,

• steel foundry workers,

• tire and rubber manufacturing workers, and

workers exposed to creosote, such as

• carpenters,

• farmers,

• railroad workers,

• tunnel construction workers, and

• utility workers.

A small increased risk of cancer in workers exposed to diesel exhaust has been suggested by some epidemiologic studies



Workers are not the only segment of the population susceptible to PAH poisoning. Fetuses may be at risk for PAH exposure. PAH and

its metabolites have been shown to cross the placenta in various animal studies. Because PAHs are excreted in breast milk, nursinginfants of exposed mothers can be secondarily exposed.

Recent research out of Columbia University is showing that exposure to PAHs, can also reduce neonate’s intelligence. The study performed in New York showed IQ scores that were 4.31 and 4.67 points lower, respectively than those of less PAH exposed children.



Proven and Probable Carcinogens.

One PAH compound, benzo[a]pyrene, is notable for being the first chemical carcinogen to be discovered (and it is one of manycarcinogens found in cigarette smoke). The EPA has classified seven PAH compounds as probable human carcinogens:

benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, chrysene, dibenz(a,h)anthracene, andindeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) concluded that occupational exposure to coal products canincrease the risk of lung and skin cancer in workers.

PAHs known for their carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic (causing birth defects) properties are benzo[a]anthracene and

chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[j]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[ghi]perylene, coronene,dibenz(a,h)anthracene (C20 H14 ), indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene (C2H12) and ovalene.



Adapted from the movie poster

BREAST CANCER AND PAHs

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in United States (US), but breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosedcancer among women and the leading cause of death in US women between their late thirties and early fifties. Breast cancer rates inthe nation have increased from one in 22 in the 1940’s to one in eight today meaning one in eight women nationwide will be

diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime.

While workplace exposures to mixtures of PAHs increases the risk of lung cancer, most studies have not shown a consistently higher

risk of breast cancer in humans. One limitation of some of the workplace studies has been the small size of the studies.



However, like many other environmental chemicals that are associated with breast cancer risk, PAHs are lipophilic (dissolves in fats,

oils, lipids) and are stored in the fat tissue of the breast. PAHs have been shown to increase risk for breast cancer through a variety of mechanisms. The most common PAHs are weakly estrogenic (estrogen mimicking), due to interactions with the cellular estrogen

receptor. PAHs can also be directly genotoxic, meaning that the chemicals themselves or their breakdown products can directlyinteract with genes and cause damage to DNA.

Several epidemiological studies have implicated PAH exposure in increased risk for breast cancer. Occupational exposure studieshave looked at workers exposed regularly to gasoline fumes and vehicular exhaust, major sources of PAHs (as well as benzene). These

occupational exposures are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer for pre-menopausal women and also for men.

In the case of male breast cancer, PAHs may increase the risk of breast cancer specifically in men carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2mutation,



Sources, Occurrence

As pure chemicals, PAHs generally exist as colorless, white, or pale yellow-green solids. They can have a faint, pleasant odor.A few PAHs are used in medicines and to make dyes, plastics, and pesticides. Others are contained in asphalt used in road

construction. They can also be found in substances such as crude oil, coal, coal tar pitch, creosote, and roofing tar. They arefound throughout the environment in the air, water, and soil. They can occur in the air, either attached to dust particles or as

solids in soil or sediment.

PAHs primarily occur in oil, coal, and tar deposits, and are produced as byproducts of fuel burning (whether fossil fuel or

biomass). As a pollutant, they are of concern because some compounds have been identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, andteratogenic (causing birth defects). PAHs are also found in foods.

Carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) still are frequently found in consumer products such as toys, toolhandles, bicycle grips, shoes or sporting goods, despite the fact that the health hazards of these substances have been known

for a long time. PAHs may be present in plastics, elastomer or rubber materials, lacquers, varnishes, paints or other coatings.Although they are not produced intentionally for this purpose, they are present in these products due to the use of plasticisers

(e.g. extender oils) or carbon black (soot) in the manufacture of rubber or other elastomers.

Smoking of tobacco products or consumption of barbecued (charred) food constitute further possible human exposure

pathways.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are lipophilic, meaning they mix more easily with oil than water. The larger compounds areless water-soluble and less volatile (i.e., less prone to evaporate). Because of these properties, PAHs in the environment are

found primarily in soil, sediment and oily substances, as opposed to in water or air. However, they are also a component of

concern in particulate matter suspended in air.



Pavement Sealant

Sealcoat on School Playground

Recently, they have been identified in Sealcoat pavement in high concentrations and are considered a major pollutant in US

lakes. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have identified coal-tar-based sealcoat—the black, viscous liquidsprayed or painted on asphalt pavement such as parking lots, driveways and playgrounds—as a major source of polycyclic

aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in urban areas for large parts of the Nation. Several of these PAHs are suspectedhuman carcinogens and are toxic to aquatic life.

The USGS concluded the following about sealcoat sealants:

•Dust from pavement with coal-tar-based sealcoat has greatly elevated PAH concentrations compared to dust from unsealed pavement.

• Coal-tar-based sealcoat is the largest source of PAH contamination to 40 urban lakes studied, accounting for one-half of all

PAH inputs.



• Coal-tar-based sealcoat use is the primary cause of upward trends in PAHs, since the 1960s, in urban lake sediment.

• Residences adjacent to parking lots with coal-tar-based sealcoat have PAH concentrations in house dust that are 25 times

higher than those in house dust in residences adjacent to parking lots without coal-tar based sealcoat. • PAHs move from a sealcoated surface into our environment by many mechanisms: storm runoff, adhesion to tires, wind, foot

traffic, and volatilization.

Concentration of PAHs in Dust from Sealed Parking Lots(Sum of 12 PAHs in mg/kg)

Coal-tar-based sealcoat is commonly used in the central, southern, and eastern United States, and asphalt-based sealcoat iscommonly used in the western United States, west of the Continental Divide. Product analyses indicate that coal-tar-based sealcoat

products contain about 1,000 times more PAHs than sealcoat products with an asphalt base.



About 85 million gal of coal-tar-based sealants is sold each year in the U.S., accounting for about $100 million to $130 million

in annual sales, according to the Pavement Coating Technology Center.

People could potentially be exposed to PAHs in sealcoat through ingestion of abraded particles from driveways, parking lots, or playgrounds, or through skin contact with the abraded particles, either directly or by touching toys or other objects that have been in

contact with the pavement. Inhalation of wind-blown particles and of fumes that volatilize from sealed parking lots are other possible pathways.

In 2004, both Home Depot and Lowes stopped selling sealcoats based on coal tar. Several jurisdictions, including the City of Austin,Texas, the City of Washington, D.C., Dane County, Wisconsin, and several suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, have banned use of

coal-tar-based sealcoat. Similar bans are under consideration in other jurisdictions.



Pollution History

The earliest human PAH-related epidemiologic study was reported in 1936 by investigators in Japan and England who studiedlung cancer mortality among workers in coal carbonization and gasification processes. Subsequent U.S. studies among coke

oven workers confirmed an excess of lung cancer mortality, with the suggestion of excessive genital-urinary system cancer mortality. Later experimental studies showed that PAHs in soot were probably responsible for the increased incidence of

scrotal cancer noted by Percival Pott among London chimney sweeps in his 1775 treatise.

The PAH benzo(a)pyrene, which was isolated from coal tar in the 1930s, was determined to be carcinogenic when applied to

the skin of test animals. In 1947, the relationship between lung cancer and working conditions of gas industry workers andthose working with coal tar was established. An increased incidence of cancers, particularly of the lung, was shown in

epidemiologic studies of gas workers. Several epidemiologic studies have shown increased cancer mortality in workersexposed to PAH mixtures. Exposure to other potentially carcinogenic substances often occurred in these studies

The U.S. EPA has now designated 32 PAH compounds as priority pollutants. The original 16 EPA priority PAHs is oftentargeted for measurement in environmental samples.



Symptoms

Acute

PAHs generally have a low degree of acute toxicity to humans. Cells affected most significantly by acute PAH exposureappear to be those with rapid replicative turnover, such as those in bone marrow, skin, and lung tissue. Tissues with slower

turnover rates, such as liver tissue, are less susceptible.

Acute effects attributed to PAH exposure, such as headache, nausea, respiratory and dermal irritation, are probably caused

primarily by other agents.

Hydrogen sulfide in roofing tars and sulfur dioxide in foundries are examples of concomitant, acutely toxic contaminants. Naphthalene, the most abundant constituent of coal tar, is a skin irritant, and its vapors may cause headache, nausea, vomiting,

and diaphoresis (excessive sweating).

Chronic

Increased incidences of lung, skin, and bladder cancers are associated with occupational exposure to PAHs. Epidemiologicreports of PAH-exposed workers have noted increased incidences of skin, lung, bladder, and gastrointestinal cancers. These

reports, however, provide only qualitative evidence of the carcinogenic potential of PAHs in humans because of the presence

of multiple PAH compounds and other suspected carcinogens.

Effects reported from occupational exposure to PAHs include

• chronic bronchitis,

• chronic cough irritation,

• bronchogenic cancer,



• dermatitis,

• cutaneous photosensitization

Reported health effects associated with chronic exposure to coal tar and its by-products (e.g., PAHs).

• Skin: erythema, burns, and warts on sun-exposed areas with progression to cancer.

• Eyes: irritation and photosensitivity.

• Respiratory system: cough, bronchitis, and bronchogenic cancer.

• Gastrointestinal system: pharyngeal cancer, and cancer of the lip.

• Hematopoietic system: leukemia (inconclusive) and lymphoma.

• Genitourinary system: hematuria and kidney and bladder cancers.

In addition to cancer, after chronic exposure, the non-carcinogenic effects of PAHs involve primarily the

• pulmonary,

• gastrointestinal,

• renal and dermatologic systems.

Many PAHs are only slightly mutagenic or even nonmutagenic in vitro; however, their metabolites or derivatives can be potent

mutagens. According to Cornell Researchers, While workplace exposures to mixtures of PAHs increases the risk of lung cancer, most

studies have not shown a higher risk of breast cancer. One limitation of some of the workplace studies has been the small size of thestudies.



Diagnosis and Testing

In your body, PAHs are changed into chemicals that can attach to substances within the body. The presence of PAHs attached to these

substances can then be measured in body tissues or blood after exposure to PAHs. PAHs or their metabolites can also be measured in

urine, blood, or body tissues. Although these tests can show that you have been exposed to PAHs, these tests cannot be used to predictwhether any health effects will occur or to determine the extent or source of your exposure to the PAHs. It is not known how effective

or informative the tests are after exposure is discontinued. These tests to identify PAHs or their products are not routinely available ata doctor’s office because special equipment is required to detect these chemicals.

Treatments

The management and treatment focus of individuals exposed to PAHs differs for high dose acute and low dose chronicexposures. Decontamination and supportive measures are the primary objectives after acute high dose PAH exposure.Treatment of chronic PAH toxicity is symptomatic and supportive. Health education and risk communication are important

aspects of patient care. Some clinicians recommend periodic pulmonary function tests and chest x-rays for PAH-exposedindividuals (inhalation exposures).

Contaminated clothing should be removed from the victim as soon as possible. The victim’s skin should be decontaminated bygently scrubbing with soap and water. Ocular contamination should be treated with irrigation and a complete eye examination.



Risks

Heavy exposure to PAHs entails a substantial risk of lung, skin, and bladder cancer, which is not likely to be due toother carcinogenic exposures present in the same industries. The lung seems to be the major target organ of PAHcarcinogenicity and increased risk is present in most of the industries and occupations listed above. An increasedrisk of skin cancer follows high dermal exposure. An increase in bladder cancer risk is found mainly in industries withhigh exposure to PAHs from coal tars and pitches. Increased risks have been reported for other organs, namely thelarynx and the kidney; the available evidence, however, is inconclusive.

AppearanceFor the most part common PAH are found in such small quantities that they are effectively invisible. Humans areexposed to PAHs by inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact. Non-occupational respiratory exposure is mainly from

tobacco smoke and urban air, while the major sources of ingested PAHs are drinking water and cooked food. Themain route of occupational exposure is, in most industries, inhalation; in many cases, however, skin exposurerepresents an important route.

Map DistributionAccording to a Cornell Fact Sheet on PAH and cancer, Breast cancer rates vary widely in different parts of the world. Rates

are the highest in North America, Northern Europe and Australia. Studies of breast cancer rates of Japanese women whomigrate to the US suggest an environmental influence on the risk of breast.

Results of studies on twins in Scandinavia also suggest that a woman’s environment plays a significant role in determining

her breast cancer risk . In this study inherited factors accounted for about 27% of breast cancer risk , suggesting thatenvironmental factors play a major role in determining the risk of breast cancer.

Recent studies reveal an increased incidence of breast cancer in the northeastern and western parts of the US that could be

related to higher developed industry and more intense traffic in these areas.



PAHs have been found in at least 600 of the 1,430 National Priorities List (Superfund) sites identified by the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA). Historically, in locations where gas for lighting and heating was manufactured from coal or oil, largeamounts of PAHs existed and may still exist as waste deposits. Before World War II, more than 1,000 coal gasification plants are

estimated to have existed throughout the Midwestern and eastern United States. These plants began to phase out in the early 1950swhen the use of interstate natural gas pipelines became more prominent.



Case Studies

Massachusetts

Map showing Superfund Sites in Massachusetts. with the PAH (BaP)

Overlain to Breast Cancer Death Rate in White Females

(Blue colors show higher Breast Cancer Death Rates)



Cape Cod Cancer Cluster

Concerns over higher-than-expected breast cancer rates on Cape Cod, MA and cancer rates in general have led to a plethora of

studies by institutions including Boston University, the Silent Spring Institute and the state Department of Public Health.

Map Showing incidence of Breast Cancer on Cape Cod, Massachusetts



Risk factors consistently associated with a higher breast cancer risk are called “established” risk factors. Established

risk factors include:

• getting older,• having regular menstrual periods earlier,

• going through menopause later in life,

• having a first child late in life,

• not having any children,

• having a mother or sister with breast cancer,

• past exposure of breasts to ionizing radiation,

• having certain types of benign breast disease.

But these factors explain only about 25 to 50% of breast cancer cases on Cape Cod. Breast cancer incidence has been higher on

Cape Cod over many years since the beginning of the state cancer registry. Between 1982 and 1994, eleven of the fifteentowns on Cape Cod had breast cancer incidence rates at least 15 percent higher than those found in the rest of Massachusetts.Elevated incidence was statistically significant in eight of those towns. Women who have lived longer on Cape Cod have

higher breast cancer risk, after controlling for established breast cancer risk factors and mammography use. In studies of dust

particles found in Cape Cod homes, three PAHs (pyrene, benz[a]anthracene and benz[a]pyrene) were found in more thanthree-quarters of the homes tested.



Map Showing Polluted Groundwater Plumes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts



In 2010, Researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health published results of a breast cancer analysis amongwomen living in upper Cape Cod, MA The upper Cape women who participated in the study were diagnosed with breast

cancer from 1983-1993. The study was prompted by an earlier spatial analysis that revealed a geographic overlap betweengroundwater plumes in upper Cape Cod and an area of increased breast cancer risk). These plumes indicated areas of concernaround landfills and wastewater facilities, large point sources of contaminants to groundwater. Researchers determined that

among these plumes, the plume associated with the Barnstable Wastewater Pollution Control Facility (BWPCF) was the

only point source with the potential to impact the drinking water of the women in the study. The strongest association

was observed among women whose drinking water came from the BWC during 1966-1973, which was 15 to 20 years

before their breast cancer diagnosis. With only limited historical data available, researchers were unable to identify

specific contaminants of concern in the drinking water. However, PAHs, PCBs and other petrochemicals are strongly

suspected.

New Hampshire

In New Hampshire, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a branch of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,declared a public health hazard and banned swimming in the Winnipesaukee River near the former Messer Street Manufactured Gas Plant due toPAHs.



New York

A recent case-control study in western New York indicated that very early life exposure (around the time of birth) to high levels of total suspended particulates, a proxy measure for PAH levels, is associated with increased risk of breast cancer in post-menopausalwomen. An extension of this study, examining PAH exposures at critical times in women’s reproductive histories, demonstrated a

relationship between particulate exposures at the time of menarche (first period) and incidence of pre-menopausal breast cancer, and arelationship between exposure levels at the time of first birth and risk of post-menopausal breast cancer. The results are complex, but

all contribute to our understanding that exposures to environmental toxicants at critical periods of breast development can influence

later cancer risk

New York Map Showing Relative Incidence of Breast Cancer



Several studies on Breast Cancer and the Environment on Long Island have revealed links between PAH compounds and breastcancer. One of the studies from the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project (LIBCSP) found that women with the highest level of

PAH-DNA adducts or chemical bond s had a 50 percent increased risk of breast cancer. PAH-DNA s are indicators of problemsin DNA repair in cells, one of the early hallmarks of tumor development. In an earlier report, researchers explored the presence of

PAH-DNA s in breast samples taken from women diagnosed with cancer as compared with those diagnosed with benign breast

disease. Cancerous samples were twice as likely to have PAH-DNA s as were benign samples . Follow-up work indicates thatthose women who had higher levels of PAH s may not necessarily have had higher exposures to PAHs, but instead had particular

genetic profiles that encourage the deficits in DNA repair. Other studies support the presence of different genetic profiles for womenwho have increased numbers of PAH-DNA s, including polymorphisms in genes involved in cell metabolism, tumor-suppressor

mechanisms and DNA repair.



Map showing Superfund Sites in Massachusetts. with the PAH (BaP)

Overlain to Breast Cancer Death Rate in White Females




.Long Island Map Showing Relative Incidence of Breast Cancer and Hazardous Waste Sites

The studies above all looked at breast cancer incidence. One recent analysis examined the relationship between PAH- levels andmortality among women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. In an extension of the Long Island study described above,

researchers found no overall relationship between survivorship and PAH-DNA- levels. Looking more closely at groups of women whohad undergone different types of treatments, however, revealed a twofold increase in deaths from breast cancer among women with

high PAH-DNA levels who had received radiation treatment; this was offset partially by an increased survival for women with s whohad received hormone therapy.



Michigan

Map showing Superfund Sites in Michigan. with the PAH (BaP)Overlain to Breast Cancer Death Rate in White Females


Cancer is the second leading cause of all deaths in Michigan and the leading cause of years of potential life lost (YPLL) for people

below the age of 75. According to the cancer statistics from the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), the most



common cancers in Michigan are lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause

of cancer-related death in Michigan and in the United States (US), while breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer amongMichigan women and the leading cause of death in US women between their late thirties and early fifties. Lung cancer is also the

second most frequently diagnosed cancer in Michigan, behind prostate cancer. Michigan ranks 21st in the nation in lung cancer mortality. The American Cancer Society (ACS) has identified several risk factors for breast cancer. About 5 to 10 percent of breastcancer is inherited, due to strong genetic factors. Other possible risk factors include increasing age, personal history of breast cancer,

long-term use of hormone replacement therapy, obesity, low physical activity, and alcohol consumption. At the same time, recentresearch show an emerging evidence of an association between breast cancer risk and environmental pollution. PAH emissions are

suspected as being important causes of breast cancer and lung cancer.

Researchers found a cluster of breast cancer in Midland, Saginaw, and Bay counties between 1985 and 2002. High levels of dioxins

and other contaminants in soil and higher than average body burdens of dioxins in local residents, particularly those who lived in theregion prior to 1980, have also been found in the city of Midland and the Tittabawassee and Saginaw River floodplains in Michigan.



Map of Michigan Zip Codes Showing Breast Cancer in Relation to Highways

Map of Michigan Zip Codes Showing Lung Cancer in Relation to Highways



Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and spatial techniques were combined with statistical analysis to investigate local risk of breast and lung cancer. Results of the study suggest that geographic locations in close proximity to the river are associated with high

risk of breast cancer, while the spatial clusters of lung cancer were detected in locations that are in close proximity to point source pollution. Geographic clusters of lung cancer were also observed in locations near to major highways which are major source of PAHs.

ARKLATEX

In 2003, levels of toxic PAH chemicals in Barton Springs Pool, near Austin Texas and just upstream on a hillside overlooking the poolhave exceeded those found in a dozen of the worst hazardous waste sites in the country.

At points along three other Austin bodies of water — East Bouldin Creek, Waller Creek and the Central Market ponds at Lamar

Boulevard and West 45th Street — levels of PAH chemicals that increase the risk of cancer after prolonged exposure also haveexceeded those found at toxic waste sites that federal authorities have declared public health hazards or Superfund sites.

The figure below adapted from the American, compares Barton Springs PAH levels with EPA standards and with contamination

levels at other sites. Units are parts per billion benzo(a)pyrene equivalents.



Scientists who reviewed test results documenting the contamination say the data suggest that the pollution found in the pool and

along the hillside is from hazardous waste dumped nearby. The most likely culprit, they say, is waste from coal gasificationplants that produced fuel for city lighting from the 1870s to 1928.

Two toxicologists said the elevated levels of the neurotoxic metal arsenic and seven benzene-based [PAH] compounds found in

sediments at Barton Springs warrant temporarily closing Austin's environmental treasure, the spring-fed pool whose iconic value hasdriven more than a decade of anti-development campaigning and reshaped city politics. They recommend closing the pool until

questions about public safety are resolved. The pool attracts an average of about 1,000 paid visitors a day.

Though the city found the chemicals in the springs area as early as 1994, its focus in its testing program was on the endangered Barton

Springs salamander and not on human health, city officials acknowledged. It is possible, the newspaper's experts said, that the

pollution came from coal gasification plants whose wastes might have been dumped on the ground or in an old gravel pit thatwas filled in before the Barton Hills neighborhood developed.

An e-mail obtained from the city under the Texas open records law shows that the serious nature of the contamination at the pool,

creek and hillside had independent confirmation in early 2002 by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, the federal government'ssciences research arm. A federal scientist reported to city officials that she was shocked by the "astronomical" levels of [PAH]

benzene compounds recorded in USGS tests.

The hillside has repeatedly recorded the seven [PAH]benzene compounds above the minimum level of 1,000 parts per billion that can

make a residential or recreational area eligible for the federal Superfund list of the nation's most dangerous toxic sites needing

cleanup. In one test, the compounds were found at 355 times that minimum.

The City of Austin investigated paving sealant as a potential source for PAH in Austin streams and concluded:

“Hot-spots” of PAHs are seen in Austin creek sediments, above the Probable Effect Concentrations, which may cause impairment

to aquatic life.



High concentrations of PAHs in sediments are significantly, and best, correlated with the percentage of sealed parking lot in the

drainage area.

Particulates from sealed parking lots have significantly higher PAH concentrations than parking lots with no sealants (asphalt or

concrete).

PAHs are significantly higher in coal-tar based sealants than in asphalt-based sealants and also significantly higher in particulate

washoff and scrapings from parking lots where those were applied.



Map showing Superfund Sites in the Texas Region with the PAH (BaP)

Overlain to Breast Cancer Death Rate in White FemalesBlue Colors show higher Breast Cancer Death Rates



CALIF

Map showing Superfund Sites in Calif. with the PAH (BaP)

Overlain to Breast Cancer Death Rate in White FemalesBlue Colors show higher Breast Cancer Death Rates



EGYPT

Grilled Meat

PAHs are also formed when muscle meat, including beef, pork, fish, and poultry, is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame. They are formed when fat and juices from meat grilled directly over an open firedrip onto the fire, causing flames. These flames contain PAHs that then adhere to the surface of the meat. PAHs can also be formed

during other food preparation processes, such as smoking of meats. PAH formation can be reduced by avoiding direct exposure of

meat to an open flame or a hot metal surface, reducing the cooking time, and using a microwave oven to partially cook meat beforeexposing it to high temperatures. Continuously turning meat over on a high heat source can substantially reduce PAH formation

compared with just leaving the meat on the heat source without flipping it often. Removing charred portions of meat and refrainingfrom using gravy made from meat drippings can also reduce PAH exposure

Research in Egypt in 2010 on grilled chicken found that PAHs were reduced by coating meats (prior to cooking) with marinades and

some food additives such as garlic paste or mixtures of spices. Apparently the coatings prevent the PAH containing smoke fromgetting into the meat.

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-barbecue-rimagefree2444496-resi3708612



Things to Avoid!

According to the Silent Spring Institute in order to reduce PAH you should:

• Avoid tracking pollutants into your home by placing a rug at each entry; remove outdoor shoes there.

• Improve indoor air quality by opening windows.

• Choose a vacuum cleaner that contains the dust from the floor, rather than spreading it. Consumer Reports lists the best ones.

• Don’t smoke indoors.

• Vent your gas stove, broiler, grill, or fireplace.

• Avoid using wood-burning fireplaces and stoves.

• Choose fuel-efficient vehicles, because auto exhaust contains mammary carcinogens.

• Choose fragrance-free cleaning products and cosmetics and try to avoid cosmetics and personal care products with phthalates

and parabens. For details about which products contain these chemicals, visit the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website.

•

Don’t store gas-powered engines, gasoline, or solvents in your basement or an attached garage. If you must, open the space tothe outdoor air, ventilate, and consider storing hazards in an airtight box.

• Use glues, paints, solvents, and fingernail polish outside or in a well-ventilated area.

Additional steps to lower exposure to PAHs from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health include --

• decreasing the use of coal-tar-based cosmetics and shampoos;

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm

http://www.safecosmetics.org/




http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm



• substituting cedar shavings or aromatic herbs for mothballs, moth flakes, and deodorant cakes;

• avoiding skin contact by wearing protective clothing, such as long-sleeve shirts, long pants, and gloves, if you are handling

creosote-treated wood products;• avoiding exposure to dust and fumes by wearing an appropriate respirator when working with products containing PAHs.

For More Information – see websites.

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