Results for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

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Results on page last updated: 05/06/2015

Chemical Group: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Measured in: Urine

Project: Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) - 1.Pilot

Study Group: 112 adults
Sample Collection Date: 2011 - 2012

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Limit of Detection (LOD), wet-weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Limit of Detection (LOD), wet-weight
1-NAP	Naphthalene	NA	pg/mL	109	1,650	1,260	2,150	668	1,430	3,630	18,100	100.0%	25 pg/mL
1-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	pg/mL	109	126	106	149	80.2	133	259	478	99.1%	10 pg/mL
1-PYR	Pyrene	NA	pg/mL	109	93.0	75.1	115	49.3	88.1	177	665	88.1%	20 pg/mL
2-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	pg/mL	109	246	198	305	121	232	387	2,290	100.0%	20 pg/mL
2-NAP	Naphthalene	NA	pg/mL	109	4,290	3,450	5,340	1,950	4,190	10,200	25,000	100.0%	20 pg/mL
2-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	pg/mL	109	39.1	33.6	45.5	24.4	41.8	70.3	119	93.6%	10 pg/mL
3-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	pg/mL	109	124	97.9	157	54.2	103	227	1,580	95.4%	20 pg/mL
3-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	pg/mL	109	57.4	47.8	68.9	31.7	53.1	117	285	96.3%	10 pg/mL
9-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	pg/mL	109	323	268	389	184	312	607	1,940	99.1%	37 pg/mL

Project: Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) - 2.Expanded

Study Group: 341 adults
Sample Collection Date: 2013

Weighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Limit of Detection (LOD), wet-weight	Notes
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Limit of Detection (LOD), wet-weight	Notes
1-NAP	Naphthalene	NA	pg/mL	218	1,230	873	1,730	569	1,060	2,740	14,700	98.4%	25 pg/mL	●
1-NAP	Naphthalene	Creatinine	ng/g creatinine	218	1,340	983	1,840	567	948	2,530	18,100	98.4%	25 pg/mL	●
1-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	pg/mL	218	104	84.4	129	69.9	106	179	521	97.9%	10 pg/mL	●
1-PHEN	Phenanthrene	Creatinine	ng/g creatinine	218	114	95.6	136	64.4	107	164	427	97.9%	10 pg/mL	●
1-PYR	Pyrene	NA	pg/mL	218	105	83.0	134	56.8	102	205	497	90.5%	20 pg/mL	●
1-PYR	Pyrene	Creatinine	ng/g creatinine	218	115	93.9	141	62.6	104	151	909	90.5%	20 pg/mL	●
2-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	pg/mL	218	201	164	245	118	209	325	922	98.4%	20 pg/mL	●
2-FLUO	Fluorene	Creatinine	ng/g creatinine	218	219	185	260	127	178	299	1,160	98.4%	20 pg/mL	●
2-NAP	Naphthalene	NA	pg/mL	218	3,640	2,990	4,420	1,780	3,490	7,940	19,500	100%	20 pg/mL	●
2-NAP	Naphthalene	Creatinine	ng/g creatinine	218	3,980	3,330	4,750	1,920	3,740	6,820	19,900	100%	20 pg/mL	●
2-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	pg/mL	218	35.0	29.0	42.1	21.1	39.0	55.7	164	91.2%	10 pg/mL	●
2-PHEN	Phenanthrene	Creatinine	ng/g creatinine	218	38.2	32.5	44.9	24.3	34.5	54.6	134	91.2%	10 pg/mL	●
3-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	pg/mL	218	96.3	74.1	125	43.9	90.4	163	1150	89.8%	20 pg/mL	●
3-FLUO	Fluorene	Creatinine	ng/g creatinine	218	105	83.4	133	53.2	82.8	148	1,140	89.8%	20 pg/mL	●
3-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	pg/mL	218	56.1	45.5	69.3	37.2	57.3	109	247	93.3%	10 pg/mL	●
3-PHEN	Phenanthrene	Creatinine	ng/g creatinine	218	61.4	51.3	73.4	34.5	56.2	78.3	468	93.3%	10 pg/mL	●
9-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	pg/mL	218	274	217	344	143	271	507	2140	96.3%	37 pg/mL	●
9-FLUO	Fluorene	Creatinine	ng/g creatinine	218	299	246	363	156	266	478	1,890	96.3%	37 pg/mL	●

Project: Firefighter Occupational Exposures (FOX) Project

Study Group: 101 Firefighters
Sample Collection Date: 2010 - 2011

Study Group Subset: Firefighters

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Limit of Detection (LOD), wet-weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Limit of Detection (LOD), wet-weight
1-NAP	Naphthalene	NA	ng/L	101	1290	1030	1610	613	1300	2210	8270	100%	25.0
1-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	ng/L	101	120	103	138	75.0	119	196	455	100%	10.0
1-PYR	Pyrene	NA	ng/L	101	87.2	72.8	105	50.2	84.2	141	457	95.1%	20.0
2-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	ng/L	101	172	149	198	98.4	185	297	510	100%	20.0
2-NAP	Naphthalene	NA	ng/L	101	3190	2690	3770	2000	3060	4830	11300	100%	20.0
2-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	ng/L	101	67.1	59.5	75.7	41.1	64.8	97.9	204	100%	10.0
3-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	ng/L	101	83.5	70.5	98.9	44.8	85.8	148	365	96.0%	20.0
3-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	ng/L	101	88.4	75.7	103	51.2	94.1	140	367	100%	10.0
9-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	ng/L	101	278	236	327	162	279	453	1110	100%	37.0

Project: Maternal and Infant Environmental Exposure Project (MIEEP)

Study Group: 92 pregnant women and their infants (65 mother-infant pairs and 27 pregnant women)
Sample Collection Date: 2010 - 2011

Study Group Subset: Pregnant women

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Limit of Detection (LOD), wet-weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	90th	Limit of Detection (LOD), wet-weight
1-NAP	Naphthalene	NA	ng/L	88	1020	800	1300	465	858	1940	4060	25.0
1-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	ng/L	88	193	161	232	107	198	323	588	10.0
1-PYR	Pyrene	NA	ng/L	88	186	153	227	88.2	211	334	598	20.0
2-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	ng/L	88	192	157	235	96.0	188	311	529	20.0
2-NAP	Naphthalene	NA	ng/L	88	6490	5140	8190	2780	6780	14000	23700	20.0
2-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	ng/L	88	99.4	85.9	115	60.6	94.4	159	235	10.0
3-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	ng/L	88	54.8	43.7	68.8	23.5	45.8	106	212	20.0
3-PHEN	Phenanthrene	NA	ng/L	88	69.4	57.3	84.0	34.1	70.2	109	190	10.0
9-FLUO	Fluorene	NA	ng/L	88	535	440	651	272	536	814	1370	37.0

Footnotes

●Expanded BEST data from 218 participants was weighted, a statistical method to adjust over-represented and under-represented samples, so that the summary results adequately reflect the population of California’s Central Valley. Unweighted results are available to download on the Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) – 2. Expanded project page.

Explanation of Terms

95% Confidence interval for the geometric mean

A 95% confidence interval for the geometric mean (CI-GM) is a range of values between two numbers called the lower bound and upper bound. These bounds are calculated based on sample data collected from a subset of a larger population. In repeated random sampling, the CI-GMs calculated for the various samples will contain the population value of the geometric mean 95 percent of the time. If convenience sampling is used to collect sample data, the CI-GM should be interpreted with caution. This is because a convenience sample may not be representative of the larger population.

95% Confidence interval for the geometric mean - lower

95% Confidence interval for the geometric mean - upper

Adjusted for

Chemical concentrations in urine can be adjusted for urine dilution using creatinine or specific-gravity. Chemical concentrations in serum can be adjusted for lipids. In the results tables, unadjusted chemical concentrations are denoted by NA.

Below the limit of detection (<LOD)

Below the limit of detection (< LOD) means that the laboratory could not detect the chemical. This may have been because the chemical was not present at all or because it was present at such a low level that the laboratory could not measure it.

Chemical measured

The chemical that was analyzed in blood or urine samples. The chemical measured is sometimes the parent chemical and sometimes a metabolite of the parent chemical.

Detection frequency (percent detected)

The percentage of study participants with a measurable level of a chemical in their blood or urine sample.

Geometric mean

The geometric mean is an estimated middle value of a set of numbers.This is different than the average, also called the "arithmetic mean". A geometric mean is sometimes calculated when the set of numbers contains some extreme values. For example, the geometric mean of the set of numbers "1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 10, 100" is calculated by multiplying all ten numbers together and then raising to the 1/10th power, giving 4.8. To compare, the arithmetic mean is calculated by adding all ten numbers and dividing by 10, giving 14.

In the data tables, an asterisk (*) means the geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group.

Indicates exposure to

The chemical(s) listed in this column is the chemical(s) to which a person may have been exposed through various sources (e.g., via drinking water or use of a consumer product). This chemical is commonly called the parent chemical.

Limit of detection (LOD), wet-weight

The limit of detection (LOD) is the lowest level of a chemical that the laboratory can measure in whole blood, urine or serum. The wet-weight LOD is presented as an amount of a chemical per liter of a sample (for example, microgram of a chemical per liter of urine, or µg/L). This is often the way that biomonitoring results are reported as well (for example, µg/L urine or µg/L serum). In some cases, however, biomonitoring results are presented as lipid-adjusted concentrations (µg/g lipid) or creatinine-adjusted concentrations (µg/g creatinine). For these cases, the units for the wet-weight LOD will differ from the units used to report the biomonitoring results.

Number of people tested

The number of individuals whose blood or urine samples were analyzed for a particular chemical.

Sample collection date

The time period during which blood or urine samples were collected from participants in Biomonitoring California projects or laboratory collaborations.

Selected percentiles

A range of values calculated to show the distribution of measured chemical levels. See specific percentiles below for examples.

Selected percentiles - 25th

If the 25th percentile is 0.3 µg/L, for example, this means that 25% of participants had levels less than or equal to 0.3 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 50th

If the 50th percentile is 0.6 µg/L, for example, this means that 50% of participants had levels less than or equal to 0.6 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 75th

If the 75th percentile is 1.2 µg/L, for example, this means that 75% of participants had levels less than or equal to 1.2 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 90th

If the 90th percentile is 1.5 µg/L, for example, this means that 90% of participants had levels less than or equal to 1.5 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 95th

If the 95th percentile is 1.9 µg/L, for example, this means that 95% of participants had levels less than or equal to 1.9 µg/L.

Study group

A brief description of the people who provided blood and/or urine samples for analysis in a particular study.

Units

Human biomonitoring data are commonly reported as an amount of a chemical present in a specified volume of a bodily fluid (such as blood or urine). For example, a chemical measurement expressed in units of µg/L urine tells us the number of micrograms (µg) of the chemical present per one liter (L) of urine. Using standard units allows for comparison across different studies. For more examples, see definition for: Units used by Biomonitoring California.

Unweighted Results

Unweighted results summarize the measurements collected from study participants but may not apply to a wider group of Californians.

Weighted Results

Weighted results are results that have been calculated using a statistical method that adjusts over-represented and under-represented samples. Weighted results adequately reflect a wider population in California.

Results for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Chemical Group: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Project: Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) - 1.Pilot

Unweighted Results

Project: Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) - 2.Expanded

Weighted Results

Project: Firefighter Occupational Exposures (FOX) Project

Unweighted Results

Project: Maternal and Infant Environmental Exposure Project (MIEEP)

Unweighted Results

Footnotes

Explanation of Terms

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