Children spend a significant amount of their day in preschool; thus, environmental quality at preschools may have an impact on children’s health. In the present study, we analyzed polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), including PAHs, alkylated PAHs and oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs), in indoor and outdoor air particulate matter (PM₁₀) and indoor dust at preschools in Stockholm, Sweden. There were significant correlations between PAC levels in outdoor and indoor PM₁₀, with in general higher PAC levels outdoors. Fluoranthene and pyrene were detected at highest levels in all sample types, although phenanthrene and methylated phenanthrene derivatives also were found at high levels in indoor dust. In addition, the highly carcinogenic PAHs 7H-benzo[c]fluorene, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, benz[j]aceanthrylene, and dibenzo[a,l]pyrene were detected in some samples. Benzanthrone was the most prevalent OPAH in PM₁₀ samples and 9,10-anthraquinone in indoor dust. Based on diagnostic ratios and Positive Matrix Factorization we identified vehicle emission and biomass burning as important PAC sources for all samples analyzed. However, poor correlation between PAC levels in indoor PM₁₀ and indoor dust suggested additional sources for the latter. Measuring activation of DNA damage signaling in human cells exposed to organic extracts of the samples indicated substantial genotoxic potential of outdoor PM₁₀ and indoor dust. Determination of benzo[a]pyrene equivalents demonstrated that the highly potent PAHs benz[j]aceanthrylene and dibenz[a,h]anthracene contributed more than 20% to the total carcinogenic potency of the samples. We conclude that PAC levels at Stockholm preschools are relatively low but that outdoor air quality may impact on the indoor environment.

Approximately 3 billion people world-wide are exposed to air pollution from biomass burning. Herein, particulate matter(PM) emitted from artisanal cashew nut roasting, an important economic activity worldwide, was investigated. This study focused on: i) chemical characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and oxygenated (oxy-) PAHs; ii) intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS); iii) genotoxic effects and time- and dose-dependent activation of DNA damage signaling, and iv) differential expression of genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism, inflammation, cell cycle arrest and DNA repair, using A549 lung cells. Among the PAHs, chrysene, benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), benzo[b]fluoranthene, and benz[a]anthracene showed the highest concentrations (7.8–10 ng/m3), while benzanthrone and 9,10-anthraquinone were the most abundant oxy-PAHs. Testing of PM extracts was based on B[a]P equivalent doses (B[a]Peq). IC50 values for viability were 5.7 and 3.0 nM B[a]Peq at 24 h and 48 h, respectively. At these low doses, we observed a time- and dose-dependent increase in intracellular levels of ROS, genotoxicity (DNA strand breaks) and DNA damage signaling (phosphorylation of the protein checkpoint kinase 1 – Chk1). In comparison, effects of B[a]P alone was observed at micromolar range. To our knowledge, no previous study has demonstrated an activation of pChk1, a biomarker used to estimate the carcinogenic potency of PAHs in vitro, in lung cells exposed to cashew nut roasting extracts. Sustained induction of expression of several important stress response mediators of xenobiotic metabolism (CYP1A1, CYP1B1), ROS and pro-inflammatory response (IL-8, TNF-α, IL-2,COX2), and DNA damage response (CDKN1A and DDB2) was also identified. In conclusion, our data show high potency of cashew nut roasting PM to induce cellular stress including genotoxicity, and more potently when compared to B[a]P alone. Our study provides new data that will help elucidate the toxic effects of low-levels of PAH mixtures from air PM generated by cashew nut roasting.

Most research concerning the effects of air pollutants on human health focuses on urban centers and on the role of vehicular and industrial emissions as major sources of pollution. However, approximately 3 billion people world-wide are exposed to air pollution from biomass burning [1]. Herein, particulate matter (PM) emitted from artisanal cashew nut roasting, an important economic and social activity worldwide [2,3], was investigated. This study focused on: i) chemical characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their oxy-PAH derivatives; ii) time-dependent activation of DNA damage signaling and genotoxic effects, and iii) differential expression of genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism, inflammation, cell cycle arrest and DNA repair using A549 lung cells. Among the PAHs, chrysene, benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), benzo[b]fluoranthene, and benz[a]anthracene showed the highest concentrations (7.8-10 ng/m3), while among oxy-PAHs, benzanthrone and 9,10-anthraquinone were the most abundant. Testing of PM extracts was based on B[a]P equivalent doses (B[a]Peq). IC50 values for viability was 5.7 and 3.0 nM B[a]Peq at 24 h and 48 h, respectively. Based on this, all other experiments were conducted at doses up to 2 nM B[a]Peq. At these low doses, we observed a dose-dependent activation of DNA damage signaling (phosphorylation of Chk1) and genotoxicity (double strand breaks). In comparison, effects of B[a]P alone was observed at micromolar range. To our knowledge, no other study has demonstrated an activation of pChk1, a biomarker used to estimate the carcinogenic potency of PAHs in vitro [4], in lung cells exposed to biomass burning extracts. Persistent increased gene expression of several important stress response mediators of xenobiotic metabolism (CYP1A1, CYP1B1), inflammation (IL-8, TNF-α), cell cycle arrest (CDKN1A), and DNA repair (DDB2) was also identified. In conclusion, our data show high potency of biomass burning PM to induce cellular stress including genotoxicity, and more potently so when compared to B[a]P alone. Our study provides new data that will help elucidate the mechanism of lung cancer development associated with biomass burning. In addition, the results of this study support the establishment of new guidelines for human health protection in regions strongly impacted by biomass burning.