Emission characteristics and quantitative assessment of the health risks of cooking fumes during outdoor barbecuing

Given the increasing popularity of outdoor barbecue activities and the disregard for barbecue fumes, this study systematically investigated barbecue fume emission characteristics for three types of grilled meats. Particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were continuously measured, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were isolated from the particulate matter. Cooking emission concentrations depended strongly on the type of meat being cooked. Fine particles were the main particles detected in this study. Low and mediumweight PAHs were the dominant species for all cooking experiments. The mass concentration of total VOCs in the barbecue smoke of the three groups showed significant differences (p < 0.05) and was 1667.18 +/- 10.49 mu g/m3 in the chicken wing group, 904.03 +/- 7.12 mu g/m3 in the beef steak group, and 3653.37 +/- 12.22 mu g/m3 in the streaky pork group. The results of risk assessment showed that the toxicity equivalent quality (TEQ) of carcinogenic PAHs in the particulate matter was significantly higher in the streaky pork group than in the chicken wing and beef steak groups. The carcinogenic risk of benzene exceeds the US EPA standard (1.0E-6) in all types of fumes. Although the hazard index (HI) was below one in all groups for noncarcinogenic risks, it was not cause of optimism. We conjecture that only 500 g of streaky pork would exceed the noncarcinogenic risk limit, and the mass required for carcinogenic risk may be less. When barbecuing, it is essential to avoid high-fat foods and strictly control the fat quantity. This study quantifies the incremental risk of specific foods to consumers and will hopefully provide insight into the hazards of barbecue fumes.