A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirates

Burning Arabian incense (Bakhour) is a common practice in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf. Although the incense generates large amounts of chemicals and air pollutants, little is known with regard to the nature of these chemicals and their potential health risks. The aim of this study is to provide...

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Main Author: Dalibalta, Sarah (author)
Other Authors: Elsayed, Yehya (author), Alqtaishat, Fareedah (author), Gomes, Ioline (author), Fernandes, Nagelle (author)
Format: article
Published: 2015
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11073/8160
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author Dalibalta, Sarah
author2 Elsayed, Yehya
Alqtaishat, Fareedah
Gomes, Ioline
Fernandes, Nagelle
author2_role author
author
author
author
author_facet Dalibalta, Sarah
Elsayed, Yehya
Alqtaishat, Fareedah
Gomes, Ioline
Fernandes, Nagelle
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Dalibalta, Sarah
Elsayed, Yehya
Alqtaishat, Fareedah
Gomes, Ioline
Fernandes, Nagelle
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2015-04
2016-02-29T10:02:29Z
2016-02-29T10:02:29Z
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv Dalibalta, Sarah, Yehya El Sayed, Ioline Gomes, and Nagelle Fernandes. "A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirate." Science of the Total Environment 511 (2015): 684.
0048-9697
http://hdl.handle.net/11073/8160
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.12.024
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv en_US
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969714017264
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Bakhour
Incense smoke
Pollution
Health risk
Chemical analysis
United Arab Emirates
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirates
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
description Burning Arabian incense (Bakhour) is a common practice in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf. Although the incense generates large amounts of chemicals and air pollutants, little is known with regard to the nature of these chemicals and their potential health risks. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive characterization of the chemical constituents emitted in Bakhour smoke, and subsequently to examine the associated health implications of these components. Thermo-gravimetric analysis was used to investigate the presence and the thermal profile of volatile organic compounds in three different samples of Bakhour smoke. Thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was then applied to isolate all the volatile and semi-volatile compounds present in the Bakhour smoke samples. Using a spectral library and an extensive literature search, all organic compounds detected were analyzed for potential health risks. A total of 859 compounds were emitted from burning the different Bakhour samples. The novel finding of this research shows that 42 detected compounds are suspected/known carcinogens, 20 are known to have toxic effects, and at least 200 compounds are known irritants to the eyes, skin, respiratory and digestive tracts, as reported in human and/or animal studies. Our study suggests that inhaled Bakhour smoke contains a substantial number of adverse compounds, which are known to be detrimental to human health. Moreover, the evidence presented shows that incense burning is a significant source of environmental pollution; with the potential of significant health concerns particularly with long term exposure. As the majority of the compounds detected have no reported clinical data, there is an urgent need for significant research in this field.
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identifier_str_mv Dalibalta, Sarah, Yehya El Sayed, Ioline Gomes, and Nagelle Fernandes. "A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirate." Science of the Total Environment 511 (2015): 684.
0048-9697
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.12.024
language_invalid_str_mv en_US
network_acronym_str aus
network_name_str aus
oai_identifier_str oai:repository.aus.edu:11073/8160
publishDate 2015
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spelling A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab EmiratesDalibalta, SarahElsayed, YehyaAlqtaishat, FareedahGomes, IolineFernandes, NagelleBakhourIncense smokePollutionHealth riskChemical analysisUnited Arab EmiratesBurning Arabian incense (Bakhour) is a common practice in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf. Although the incense generates large amounts of chemicals and air pollutants, little is known with regard to the nature of these chemicals and their potential health risks. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive characterization of the chemical constituents emitted in Bakhour smoke, and subsequently to examine the associated health implications of these components. Thermo-gravimetric analysis was used to investigate the presence and the thermal profile of volatile organic compounds in three different samples of Bakhour smoke. Thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was then applied to isolate all the volatile and semi-volatile compounds present in the Bakhour smoke samples. Using a spectral library and an extensive literature search, all organic compounds detected were analyzed for potential health risks. A total of 859 compounds were emitted from burning the different Bakhour samples. The novel finding of this research shows that 42 detected compounds are suspected/known carcinogens, 20 are known to have toxic effects, and at least 200 compounds are known irritants to the eyes, skin, respiratory and digestive tracts, as reported in human and/or animal studies. Our study suggests that inhaled Bakhour smoke contains a substantial number of adverse compounds, which are known to be detrimental to human health. Moreover, the evidence presented shows that incense burning is a significant source of environmental pollution; with the potential of significant health concerns particularly with long term exposure. As the majority of the compounds detected have no reported clinical data, there is an urgent need for significant research in this field.2016-02-29T10:02:29Z2016-02-29T10:02:29Z2015-04info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfDalibalta, Sarah, Yehya El Sayed, Ioline Gomes, and Nagelle Fernandes. "A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirate." Science of the Total Environment 511 (2015): 684.0048-9697http://hdl.handle.net/11073/816010.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.12.024en_UShttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969714017264oai:repository.aus.edu:11073/81602024-08-22T12:17:51Z
spellingShingle A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirates
Dalibalta, Sarah
Bakhour
Incense smoke
Pollution
Health risk
Chemical analysis
United Arab Emirates
status_str publishedVersion
title A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirates
title_full A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirates
title_fullStr A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirates
title_full_unstemmed A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirates
title_short A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirates
title_sort A health risk assessment of Arabian incense (Bakhour) smoke in the United Arab Emirates
topic Bakhour
Incense smoke
Pollution
Health risk
Chemical analysis
United Arab Emirates
url http://hdl.handle.net/11073/8160