IARC MONOGRAPHS ON THE EVALUATION OF CARCINOGENIC ...

Naphthalene was measured in 1987–88 in six species of aquatic organisms (sea
mullet, bony bream, blue catfish, mud crab, pelican and the silver gull) from the Brisbane
River estuarine system in Australia. The mean concentrations (μg/kg, wet wt) (in parentheses:
lipid wt basis) were: bony bream, 14.1 (306; 8 samples); blue catfish, 21.3 (433;
8 samples); sea mullet, 37.3 (773; 8 samples); mud crab, 16.5 (407; 8 samples); pelican,
21.0 (276; 3 samples) and silver gull, 31.6 (395; 3 samples) (Kayal & Connell, 1995).
Naphthalene was identified in the neutral fraction of roast beef flavour isolate (Min
et al., 1979).
Use of a mathematical model of naphthalene migration into milk from an atmosphere
having a relatively high level of naphthalene suggested that naphthalene is first absorbed
by the packaging material (low-density polyethylene). It was cautioned that when lowdensity
polyethylene is used as the packaging material, the concentration of naphthalene
vapour in the storage area should be kept low to minimize the transfer of naphthalene to
milk (Lau et al., 1995).
(f ) Miscellaneous sources
In the USA, naphthalene was found in mainstream cigarette smoke at a concentration
of 2.8 μg per cigarette and at 46 μg per cigarette in the sidestream smoke from one
commercial unfiltered cigarette, and at a concentration of 1.2 μg in the smoke from a
filtered ‘little’ cigar (Schmeltz et al., 1976).
Naphthalene has been detected in ash from municipal refuse and hazardous waste
incinerators. It was found in seven of eight municipal refuse ash samples at
6–28 000 μg/kg, with higher concentrations detected in bottom ash than in fly ash (Shane
et al., 1990) and in five of 18 ash samples from hazardous waste incinerators at 0.17–41
(mean, 4.1) mg/kg (Carroll & Oberacker, 1989).
(g) Human tissues and secretions
Naphthalene was found in 40% of human adipose tissue samples at concentrations
ranging from < 9 to 63 μg/kg in a National Human Adipose Tissue Survey (NHATS) in
the USA in 1982 (Stanley, 1986). Naphthalene was also detected (concentrations not
reported) in six of eight selected breast milk samples from women in four cities in the
USA (Pellizzari et al., 1982). It was also released in expired air from three out of eight
individuals at concentrations of 1.5, 2.4 and 0.12 μg/h, respectively (Conkle et al., 1975).
1.5 Regulations and guidelines
NAPHTHALENE 383
Occupational exposure limits and guidelines for naphthalene are presented in
Table 7.