PH18 Assessing Human/Environment Interactions
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Thursday
(PH206) A screening level risk assessment for children's exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons through urban and peri-urban agriculture.
Yamamoto, S.1, Jones-Otazo, H.1, Diamond, M.1, Cole, D.1, 1 University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
ABSTRACT- Urban and peri-urban agriculture is defined as the growing of crops or raising of livestock for the purposes of consumption, trade or sale in urban or semi-rural areas. This form of agriculture can provide a modicum of food security for people, especially those in Kampala, Uganda where the cost of food can be prohibitive. One of the major problems associated with urban agriculture that has emerged are the health risks associated with food grown in the absence of clear and protective legislation. PAHs are of concern because they are carcinogenic, mutagenic, genotoxic and possibly teratogenic. They stem mainly from vehicle emissions, domestic cooking, wood burning and cigarette smoke. This research project examined the exposure of children ages 2 to 5 to selected PAH using a screening level multimedia urban risk assessment model (MUM-FAMrisk, Jones-Otazo et. al., 2004). Ambient PAH concentrations were determined by sampling soils as well as window films and using these to back-calculate emissions and fate using MUM-Fate. Estimated media concentrations were then used to calculate food concentrations which, together with air (indoor and outdoor) and soil, were used to predict exposure to children ages 2 to 5 years.
Key words: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, screening level human health risk assessment, Kampala, Uganda, Africa