Derivation of a dose descriptor for the internal exposure to benzene

Abstract

In 2022, the Human Biomonitoring (HBM) Commission of the German Environment Agency developed a concept for the risk assessment of carcinogenic substances in HBM studies, focusing on the internal exposure to genotoxic carcinogens. This concept involves deriving a dose descriptor for the internal exposure based on the concentration of specific biomarkers. In this study, the HBM Commission applies this new concept to benzene as a model substance, using urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) as specific urinary exposure biomarker for benzene in HBM studies. The HBM Commission estimates additional lifetime cancer risks from benzene exposure using S-PMA HBM data from the German Environmental Specimen Bank and the German Environmental Survey (GerES V). Results indicate that there are considerable cancer risks for benzene in the general population for both adults and children. These findings highlight the importance of considering cumulative environmental exposures in public health risk management and demonstrate the applicability of HBM concepts for risk assessment of carcinogenic substances. Future studies should expand this approach to other environmental carcinogens to better inform mitigation strategies.