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exposed. Exposure to PAHs can also occur if your <br />skin contacts PAH- contaminated soil or products <br />like heavy oils, coal tar, roofing tar, or creosote. <br />Creosote is an oily liquid found in coal tar and is <br />used to preserve wood. Once in your body, PAHs <br />can spread and target fat tissues. Target organs <br />include the kidneys and liver. However, PAHs <br />will leave your body through urine and feces in a <br />matter of days. <br />How can you be exposed to PAHs? <br />You can be exposed to PAHs in the environment, <br />in your home, and in the workplace. Because <br />PAHs exist naturally in the environment and are <br />man -made, you can be exposed in a number of <br />ways. Fumes from vehicle exhaust, coal, coal tar, <br />asphalt, wildfires, agricultural burning and <br />hazardous waste sites are all sources of exposure. <br />You could be exposed to PAHs by breathing <br />cigarette and tobacco smoke, eating foods grown <br />in contaminated soil, or by eating meat or other <br />food that you grilled. Grilling and charring food <br />actually increases the amount of PAHs in the food. <br />If you work in a plant that makes coal tar, asphalt <br />and aluminum, or that bums trash, you can be <br />exposed to PAHs. You can also be exposed if you <br />work in a facility that uses petroleum or coal, or <br />where wood, corn, and oil are burned. <br />How can PAHs affect your health? <br />A number of PAHs have caused tumors in <br />laboratory animals that were exposed to PAHs <br />through their food, from breathing contaminated <br />air, and when it was applied to their skin. When <br />pregnant mice ate high doses of a PAH <br />(benzo(a)pyrene) they experienced reproductive <br />problems. In addition, the offspring of the pregnant <br />mice showed birth defects and a decrease in their <br />body weight. Other effects include damage to the <br />skin, body fluids, and the immune system. <br />However, these effects have not been seen in <br />humans. <br />Is there a medical test to determine if you have <br />been exposed to PAHs? <br />2 <br />There is a test that can measure the presence of <br />PAH in your urine. This test can only tell you if <br />you have been exposed; but it can't reveal how <br />harmful the effects of the exposure will be. This <br />test would have to be performed in a laboratory <br />that has special equipment to detect the PAHs. <br />Another test currently being developed will be <br />able to measure PAHs in your body tissue and <br />blood. <br />What are the medical treatments in cases of <br />exposure? <br />Most exposures to PAHs happen every day at <br />very low levels in the air we breathe and the <br />foods we eat. Treatment for a short-term <br />exposure is unlikely. Contact your doctor if you <br />experience symptoms of PAHs poisoning. <br />What levels of exposure have resulted in <br />harmful health effects? <br />There is no information available from studies <br />on humans to tell what effects can result from <br />being exposed to individual PAHs at certain <br />levels. However, breathing PAHs and skin <br />contact seem to be associated with cancer in <br />humans. Animal studies showed that mice <br />exposed to 308 parts per million (ppm) of PAHs <br />(specifically benzo (a) pyrene) in food for 10 <br />days (short term exposure) caused birth defects. <br />Mice exposed to 923 ppm of benzo (a) pyrene in <br />food for months caused problems in the liver and <br />blood. <br />Where can I get more information? <br />Contact your state health or environmental <br />department, or: <br />Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease <br />Registry <br />Division of Toxicology <br />1600 Clifton Road, N.E., E -29 <br />Atlanta, Georgia 30333 <br />References <br />1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease <br />