12.4 Campo

Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e di Comunità

Exposure to PAHs in subjects living in
the vicinity of a solid waste incinerator
Laura Campoa, Silvia Fustinonia, Laura Erspamera, Andrea Ranzib, Giulia Gattic, Petra
Elisabeth Bechtoldc, Carlo Alberto Goldonic, Pier Alberto Bertazzia, Paolo Lauriolab

aDepartment

of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan and Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda
Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy; bEnvironmental Health Reference Centre, Regional Agency for
Environmental Prevention of Emilia-Romagna, Modena, Italy; cDepartment of Public Health, Local Health Unit,
Modena, Italy

Introduction
• Some studies have suggested associations between solid waste
incinerator (SWI) emissions and health effects, particularly
adverse impacts on reproduction and cancer.


• Epidemiological evidences are weak (lack of exposure
information, use of surrogate measurements, and difficulty in
controlling for potential confounding factors).
• Concern over the sustainability of the process of solid waste
management by incineration, and putative health effects, has
grown, especially for the general populations living in proximity
to these plants.

ISBM 2013, Manchester, 9th-11th September 2013

1/19

Introduction


• The European Directive 2000/76/EC of the European
Parliament and the Council on the Incineration of Waste
enforces preventive measures to prevent or reduce
negative effects to the environment, as well as to human
health which might arise from incineration and coincineration of waste.
• In order to meet the enforceable requirements of these
regulations, SWI technology has evolved over time,
particularly in terms of emissions control.


2/19

Introduction
• Both inorganic and organic chemicals have been identified
in SWI emissions, among which polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs).
• Several PAHs have been classified as carcinogenic to
humans (IARC) and exposure to PAHs has been associated
with negative reproductive, neurodevelopmental, and
cardiovascular effects.
CO


dioxins

PAHs
VOC


NOx

PM
SOx

CO2

metals

furans

3/19

Aim of the study


To investigate PAH exposure in subjects living near a
SWI by biological monitoring.


4/19

Methods. The study


The study was conducted between May and June 2010, in Modena
(Italy), a medium-sized town (180,000 residents) located in EmiliaRomagna region.

This study is part of the “Moniter Study” (http://www.arpa.emr.it/moniter/)
aimed to study the impact of the eight SWI present in this region on the health
of the resident population.

5/19

Methods. Subjects
General population subjects
• Exposed: living and
working within 4 km from
the incinerator


• Unexposed: living and
working outside this area,
within a 15 km distance
from the incinerator

Subjects

Number

Age

Male (%)

BMI
kg/cm2

Smokers (%)

Exposed

65

48.2±6.2

44.6

25.4±4.1

23.1

Unexposed

103

48.1±6.8

44.7

25.6±4.6

22.3


6/19

Methods. Subjects
For each subject:
Questionnaire on personal and professional characteristics,
residential history, health status and life-style (smoking, diet)
Smoking habit characterization (urinary cotinine analysis)


Quantification of 10 urinary PAHs (U-PAHs)
Quantification of urinary BTEX and SPMA
Quantification of blood Pb, Cd, and Hg; serum Cu and Zn; urinary
Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Ni


7/19

Methods. Environmental exposure variables
In addition to the binary classification (exposed vs. unexposed), two
other exposure variables were used:


1. the distance of each subject’s residence from the incinerator
(linear distance from each individual geo-referenced location of
residences to the SWI)
2. the average personal exposure to SWI particulate matter (PM,
ng/m3) calculated by simulation models taking in account the
concentration values provided by fall-out pollution maps for a
period of 30 days prior to the sampling date
PM = 8/24 PMwork+ 16/24 PMresidence


8/19

Methods. U-PAH quantification
Measurement of 10 PAHs (from naphthalene to chrysene) in the
presence of 7 deuterated analogues as internal standards by
SPME-GC-MS

Sampling

Analysis
GC - MS


SPME

within-run precision: <20%
between-run precision: <20%
accuracy: 91-120%

LOQ: 0.5-5.4 ng/L
[Campo et al., Anal Bioanal Chem (2011)]

9/19

Results 1. Environmental exposure
Exposed vs. Unexposed

5.5
2.9

PM (ng/m3)

Unexposed

Exposed

0.87

Exposed

1.02


PM (ng/m3)

Distance (Km)

Unexposed

10/19

Results 2. Presence of U-PAHs in samples
• U-PAHs above the LOQ in 6% (Acy) to
100% (Nap and Phe) of samples

• Ace, Ant, BaA and Chr were
more frequently detected in
exposed subjects (p<0.05)

• Nap, Flu, Phe, Ant and Pyr detected in
more than 50% of samples

Exposed

100

Unexposed

90

% samples >LOQ


80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Nap

Acy

Ace


Flu

Phe

Ant

Pyr

Flt

BaA

Chr

11/19

Results 3. Relative abundance
100

exposed

90


Relative abundance

unexposed
80
70
60
50
40

4-ring PAHs ≈ 3%

3-ring PAHs ≈ 16%

30
20
10
0

Nap Acy

Ace

Flu

Phe

Ant

Pyr

Flt

BaA Chr

Nap
Median levels (ng/L)


Flu

Phe

Ant

Pyr

36.7

1.46

6.0

<0.5

1.1

12/19

Results 4. U-PAH levels (ng/L)
Ant

Phe

0.8

9.5

7.2

<0.5

Unexposed

Exposed

Unexposed

Exposed


Pyr

1.3

Unexposed


1.7

Ratio exposed/Unexposed:
• Phe: 1.15
• Ant: 1.81
• Pyr: 1.27

Exposed

13/19

Results 5. Multivariate linear regression analysis
• Dependent variables: U-PAHs
• Independent variables: different exposure indices

Flu

Phe

Ant

Pyr

Exposed vs. unexposed (ref.)

Nap
-0.16*

ns

ns

0.38**

ns

Distance from SWI

ns

-0.24**

-0.13**

-0.18**

-0.12**

PM exposure

ns

0.11**

0.04*

ns

ns

**= p<0.05>; *= p<0.1; ns= not significant

Models were corrected for smoking, diet, and traffic exposure


14/19

Results 6. Effect of distance from SWI


Flu

Phe

Ant

Pyr
The exposure to selected PAHs, measured
by biological monitoring, is higher for
subjects living closer to the SWI.


15/19

Results 7. Effect of PM exposure


Flu

Phe

The exposure to selected PAHs, measured by biological
monitoring, is higher for subjects exposed to higher levels of PM
emissions from the SWI


16/19

Conclusion 1. Quantification of U-PAHs
• Nap (IARC 2B) has been found in all study subjects, while
BaA and Chr (IARC 2B) were found in 20% of exposed
subjects.
• Phe, Ant, and Pyr were higher in exposed subjects.


• Ace, Ant, BaA and Chr were at a measureable levels in a
higher percentage of exposed subjects.

The simultaneous quantification of several
U-PAHs gives the possibility to obtain both
the urinary excretion profiles and the
assessment
of
exposure
to
specific
compounds.


17/19

Conclusions 2. Exposure to SWI emissions

• Our results strongly suggest that SWI is a significant source
of PAHs to the study population.


• In previous studies, exposure to PAHs from SWI, measured
by 1-hydroxypyrene, did not result significant.
• The measurement of U-PAHs permitted to highlight PAH
exposure from SWI for the first time.


18/19

On-going research
• “Biomonitoring of the general population living near a
modern waste incinerator: a pilot study in Modena, Italy”
(Ranzi et al.), submitted to Environment International.


• On-going study: recruited 500 subjects living near the same
SWI and samples collected.


19/19


Exposure to PAHs in subjects living in
the vicinity of a solid waste incinerator
Laura Campoa, Silvia Fustinonia, Laura Erspamera, Andrea Ranzib, Giulia Gattic, Petra
Elisabeth Bechtoldc, Carlo Alberto Goldonic, Pier Alberto Bertazzia, Paolo Lauriolab

12.4 Campo

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