Profile Assessment of Students Non-Occupationally Exposed to PAHs in Pearl River Delta

To assess the profile exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of middle school students from Pearl River Delta, China, multiple biomarkers, including urinary 1- and 2-hydroxynathalene (1- and 2-OHN), 2-hydroxyfluorene (2-OHF), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 9-hydroxyphenanthrene (1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 9-OHPhe) and 6-hydroxychrysene (6-OHChr) were determined by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry in negative mode. Nine urinary metabolites were detected in authentic samples with the exception of 6-OHChr. The mean concentrations of urinary PAH metabolites of students in Guangzhou were higher than those in Conghua and Zhuhai, indicating that Guangzhou has the worse environment. And the exposure levels of young children were significantly higher than those in USA. The atmosphere factor might be the main influence factor. Smoking had significant effects on PAH exposure, but there were not significant difference between passive-smokers and non-smokers and genders. The analysis results showed that using 2-OHN, 1-+9- OHPhe, 2-OHF and 1-OHP as the biomarker were more suitable and could reduce the individual variance.