Comparative Risk Assessment of Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk from PAH Exposure in Urban vs. Rural Primary School Environments in Serbia: A Probabilistic Simulation Approach

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hazardous air pollutants with known carcinogenic potential. This study investigates PAH concentrations, exposure levels, and cancer risk in indoor and outdoor air at one rural and one urban primary school in Serbia. PAHs were measured in PM2.5 samples, and benzo[a]pyrene equivalents (BaPeq) daily exposure doses were calculated for different population groups. Results showed significantly higher PAH concentrations in the urban school. The total PAH concentrations (ΣPAHs) in the urban school were 82.98 ± 36.85 ng/m³ outdoors and 41.76 ± 20.76 ng/m³ indoors, compared to 7.35 ± 9.43 ng/m³ and 5.34 ± 4.79 ng/m³, in the rural school, respectively. The Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) was calculated for both children and adults. Sensitivity analysis confirmed that the cancer slope factor and inhalation rate are the most influential variables.