Appendix D Food Codes for NHANES - OEHHA

Scientific Review PanelSRP Draft Version 2 February,June 2012
and can serve as a useful surrogate for PAHs with cancer potency factors
because of their physical-chemical similarity to PAHs with cancer potency
factors.
Less than 30 specific PAHs are measured consistently in biological samples or in
exposure studies. For example, Table J.3-1 lists commonly detectable PAHs in
food and the environment (Phillips, 1999). In one analysis, pyrene and
fluoranthene together accounted for half of the measured PAH levels in the diet
(Phillips, 1999). Table J.3-1 includes nine PAHs that have cancer potency factors
and are recognized by OEHHA as presenting a carcinogenic risk to humans
(OEHHA, 2009).
Table J.3-1: PAHs with and without Cancer Potency Factors Commonly
Measured in Food (Phillips, 1999)
PAHs with Cancer Potency
PAHs without Cancer Potency Factors
Factors
Benzo[ghi]perylene Dibenz[a,h]anthracene
Fluoranthene Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene
Pyrene Benzo[a]pyrene
Phenanthrene Benzo[k]fluoranthene
Anthracene Chrysene
Fluorene Benzo[b]fluoranthene
Acenaphthylene Benz[a]anthracene
Acenaphthene Naphthalene
Benzo[b]naphtho[2,1-d]thiophene Benzo[ j]fluoranthene
Benzo[ghi]fluoranthene
Cyclopenta[cd]pyrene
Triphenylene
Perylene
Benzo[e]pyrene
Dibenz[a,j]anthracene
Anthanthrene
Coronene
Few investigators have attempted to correlate PAH exposure from contaminated
food and ambient air with PAH concentrations in human biological samples such
as the blood or mother’s milk. This is likely due to insensitive limits of detection
for PAHs yielding few positive measurements, possibly due to the rapid and
extensive metabolism of PAHs in mammals (West and Horton, 1976; Hecht et
al., 1979; Bowes and Renwick, 1986).
This extensive metabolism often results in low or immeasurable concentrations of
PAHs in mother’s milk and blood (e.g. (Kim et al., 2008)). Nevertheless,
emissions of PAHs from stationary sources are common and the increased
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