Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represent a complex mixture of toxic compounds
that are ubiquitous in the environment. We investigated the utility of head space-solid
phase microextraction (HS-SPME) to measure the following surrogate PAHs in urine:
naphthalene (NAP), phenanthrene (PHE), pyrene (PYR), and benzo(a)pyrene (BAP), representing
classes of 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-ring compounds, respectively. We then applied the method
to urine from 28 coke oven workers (median levels (microg/l) were: NAP=3.65, PHE=1.51,
PYR=0.003, BAP not detected) and 22 controls (median (microg/l) NAP=0.859, PHE=0.062,
PYR=0.001, BAP not detected). Urinary levels of NAP, PHE, and PYR were all associated
with exposure category (controls, side- and bottom-workers, and top-workers) but not
with smoking status. Strong correlations were observed between urinary levels of NAP,
PHE, and PYR in coke-oven workers. Our results indicate that unmetabolized 2-, 3-
and 4-ring PAHs can be measured in urine by HS-SPME. Such measurements can be used
to investigate the uptake and metabolism of complex PAH mixtures in humans.