Assessment of an individual's chemical exposures is vital in determining if such chemical exposures are associated with adverse health effects. However, there is currently a lack of inexpensive, easy-to-use technology to accurately assess human exposure to environmental chemicals. Current exposure science studies primarily rely on questionnaires, biological samples, and active air sampling devices to evaluate human toxicant exposure. In this study, silicone wristbands were used within an established Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health birth cohort and compared to conventional exposure assessment methodologies. Wristbands and air monitoring backpacks were deployed together on 20 pregnant women for 48 hours. At the end of the 48 hours, a single spot urine sample was also collected. The wristband extracts were analyzed for 62 PAHs at Oregon State University, the polyurethane foam (PUF) and filter extracts from the backpacks were analyzed separately for 20 PAHs at Southwest Research Institute, and the urine samples were analyzed for 8 hydroxy-PAHs (OH-PAHs) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PAH concentrations in the backpack (PUF and filter combined) and the OH-PAHs in the urine samples are not correlated for seven of the eight PAH comparisons; however, naphthalene and 1-OH-naphthalene, are moderately correlated (Rs=0.50 and p=0.02). The backpack and wristband comparisons result in significant correlations for naphthalene (Rs =0.72, p=0.0003) and fluorene (Rs=0.68, p=0.001). The wristband was also correlated with the 1-OH-metabolites in urine, including 1-OH-naphthalene (Rs=0.48, p=0.03) and 1-OH-phenanthrene (Rs=0.74, p<0.01). Overall, the PAH/OH-PAH concentrations in backpacks and urine samples are more positively and significantly associated with PAH concentrations in wristbands than the associations between concentrations in backpacks and urine samples. We acknowledge the limitations of a small sample size, yet these results suggest that wristbands are more predictive of predominant OH-metabolites in urine than any component in the backpack, either the PUF cartridge or filter.
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