How does one get expose to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon?
AHs are present throughout the environment, and you may be exposed to these substances at home, outside, or at the workplace.
In the environment, you are most likely to be exposed to PAH vapors or PAHs that are attached to dust and other particles in the air. Sources include cigarette smoke, vehicle exhausts, asphalt roads, coal, coal tar, wildfires, agricultural burning, residential wood burning, municipal and industrial waste incineration, and hazardous waste sites.
The primary sources of exposure to PAHs are inhalation of the compounds in tobacco smoke, wood smoke, and ambient air, and consumption of PAHs in foods. For some people, the primary exposure to PAHs occurs in the workplace. PAHs have been found in coal tar production plants, coking plants, bitumen and asphalt production plants, coal-gasification sites, smoke houses, aluminium production plants, coal tarring facilities, and municipal trash incinerators.