The East Bay Diesel Exposure Project: a biomonitoring study of parents and their children in heavily impacted communities

BACKGROUND: Diesel exhaust (DE) exposures pose concerns for serious health effects, including asthma and lung cancer, in California communities burdened by multiple stressors. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate DE exposures in disproportionately impacted communities using biomonitoring and compare results for adults and children within and between families. METHODS: We recruited 40 families in the San Francisco East Bay area. Two urinary metabolites of 1-nitropyrene (1-NP), 6-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene (6-OHNP) and 8-hydroxy-1-nitropyrene (8-OHNP), were measured in urine from parent–child pairs. Twenty-five families provided single-day spot urine samples during two rounds (~4 months apart); 15 families provided daily spot urine samples over four consecutive days during both rounds. We also measured 1-NP in household dust and indoor air. Associations between urinary metabolites and demographics, season, and 1-NP in dust and air were evaluated. RESULTS: At least one 1-NP metabolite was detected in 96.6% of urine samples. Detection frequencies for 1-NP in dust and indoor air were 97% and 74%, respectively. Random-effect models indicated significantly higher 6-OHNP in parents than in children (p=0.005). Urinary metabolites were generally higher in fall/winter. Within-subject variability exceeded between-subject variability (~60% vs ~40% of total variance), indicating high short-term temporal variability. IMPACT: Biomonitoring coupled with air monitoring improves understanding of hyperlocal air pollution impacts and will inform design of exposure mitigation strategies in disproportionately affected communities.

Daniel Sultana, Duyen Kauffman, Rosemary Castorina, Michael H. Paulsen, Russell Bartlett, Kelsey Ranjbar, Robert B. Gunier, Victor Aguirre, Marina Rowen, Natalia Garban, Josephine DeGuzman, Jianwen She, Regan Patterson, Christopher D. Simpson, Asa Bradman, Sara Hoover