Where It Comes From
vehicle exhaust; residential wood or coal burning; industrial combustion (coke ovens, aluminum production); tobacco smoke and wildfires; charred or smoked foods; coal‑tar pitch [1][2][3].
How You Are Exposed
breathing traffic‑ or smoke‑affected air; secondhand smoke; skin contact with soot or coal‑tar products; eating heavily charred/smoked meats [1][2].
Why It Matters
PAH mixtures can irritate airways, impact the heart and lungs, and some PAHs cause cancer; high‑ring PAHs like DB[a,e]P show genotoxicity in lab studies [1][3][4].
Who Is at Risk
people near busy roads or who burn solid fuels at home; workers around coal‑tar pitch, coke ovens, or heavy soot (roofers, foundry/coke‑oven workers, firefighters); smokers and their families; pregnant people, infants, and children [1][3][4].
How to Lower Your Exposure
avoid smoke and idling; use cleaner heating/cooking and a vent hood; limit charred/smoked foods; maintain stoves; wash off soot after work and change clothes; avoid coal‑tar products when alternatives exist [1][2].
References
- [1]ATSDR. ToxFAQs for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
- [2]U.S. EPA. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Sources, Exposure, and Health Effects. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- [3]IARC. Some Non-heterocyclic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Some Related Exposures. IARC Monographs, Vol. 92 (2010).
- [4]NTP. Report on Carcinogens, 15th Edition: Benzo[a]pyrene; Coal‑tar Pitch. National Toxicology Program.