Cumulative exposure assessment for trace-level polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using human blood and plasma analysis

Humans experience chronic cumulative trace-level exposure to mixtures of volatile, semi-volatile, and non-volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the environment as by-products of combustion processes. Certain PAHs are known or suspected human carcinogens and so we have developed methodology for measuring their circulating (blood borne) concentrations as a tool to assess internal dose and health risk. We use liquid/liquid extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and present analytical parameters including dynamic range (0–250 ng/ml), linearity (>0.99 for all compounds), and instrument sensitivity (range 2–22 pg/ml) for a series of 22 PAHs representing 2–6-rings. The method is shown to be sufficiently sensitive for estimating PAHs baseline levels (typical median range from 1 to 1000 pg/ml) in groups of normal control subjects using 1-ml aliquots of human plasma but we note that some individuals have very low background concentrations for 5- and 6-ring compounds that fall below robust quantitation levels.