Abstract
A number of studies have reported the occurrence of phthalates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor settled dust from different occupational and residential settings around the world but limited studies are available from public and religious places. In recent decades Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has experienced tremendous industrial growth especially in the petroleum industries, and as result environmental issues related with such industries have also increased but scientific data is still scarce to understand the impact on public health. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to report the phthalates and PAHs profile in the settled dust collected from various mosques of Jeddah, an important part of people living in the region, and to evaluate the health risk associated with these chemicals via dust ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact for the general public who attend mosques for prayers. Phenanthrene (500-3000 ng/g), pyrene (40-1220 ng/g), and chrysene (95-4590 ng/g) were the major PAHs and ∑
PAHs concentrations ranged from 2550 to 9150 ng/g. Whereas, DEHP (<LOQ-292900 ng/g) and BzBP (<LOQ-292900 ng/g) were the major phthalates in the mosque dust. Health risk assessment for the public was calculated by incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR), and daily exposure to via dust ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact for both PAHs and phthalates. At the same time, benzo[a]pyrene equivalent carcinogenic power (BaPE) (median 145 ng/g) was calculated for PAHs. The ILCR for PAHs was in line with the reference values of USEPA. At the same time, exposure via dust ingestion on daily basis reached up to 82 ng/kg bw/day for DEHP for young children. The study showed general public is exposed to these chemicals in the studied area and major exposure routes are dermal and ingestion.