POPs in a major conurbation in Turkey: ambient air concentrations, seasonal variation, inhalation and dermal exposure, and associated carcinogenic risks

Semi-volatile organic compounds were monitored over a whole year, by collection of gas and particle phases every sixth day at a suburban site in Izmir, Turkey. Annual mean concentrations of 32 polychlorinated biphenyls (a(32)PCBs) and 14 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (a(14)PAHs) were 348 pg/m(3) and 36 ng/m(3), respectively, while it was 273 pg/m(3) for endosulfan, the dominant compound among 23 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). Monte Carlo simulation was applied to the USEPA exposure-risk models for the estimation of the population exposure and carcinogenic risk probability distributions for heating and non-heating periods. The estimated population risks associated with dermal contact and inhalation routes to a(32)PCBs, a(14)PAHs, and some of the targeted OCPs (alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha-HCH), beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (beta-HCH), heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, alpha-chlordane (alpha-CHL), gamma-chlordane (gamma-CHL), and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT)) were in the ranges of 1.86 x 10(-16)-7.29 x 10(-9) and 1.38 x 10(-10)-4.07 x 10(-6), respectively. The inhalation 95th percentile risks for a(32)PCBs, a(14)PAHs, and OCPs were about 6, 3, and 4-7 orders of magnitude higher than those of dermal route, respectively. The 95th percentile inhalation risk for a(32)PCBs and OCPs in the non-heating period were 1.8- and 1.2-4.6 folds higher than in the heating period, respectively. In contrast, the 95th percentile risk levels for a(14)PAHs in the heating period were 4.3 times greater than that of non-heating period for inhalation, respectively. While risk levels associated with exposure to PCBs and OCPs did not exceed the acceptable level of 1 x 10(-6), it was exceeded for 47 % of the population associated with inhalation of PAHs with a maximum value of about 4 x 10(-6).