Biomonitoring Of Genotoxic Risk Of Workers Exposed To Heavy Air Pollution

Epidemiological studies found an increased risk of cancers in occupations exposed to traffic air pollution. PM2.5 are toxic and can enter into the respiratory tract and circulatory system. PM2.5 can adsorb various substances, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) nitro-PAHs. The present study was carried out with 15 Reboucas tunnel (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) workers (exposed group) and 11 healthy men (control group). The participants were informed about the study and asked to sign an informed consent form and to complete a standard questionnaire to obtain necessary data on their lifestyle. Samples of buccal mucosa cells and peripheral blood were evaluated using micronucleus (MN) assay. Urine samples were used to estimate the concentration of 1-hydroxyprene (1-HOP) and 2naphthol (2-NAP). A significantly higher frequency (10.82) of MN in buccal cells and (4.42) binucleated lymphocytes were detected for the exposed workers. Higher concentrations of 1-HOP (16.47 μmol/mol creatinine) and 2-NAP (6.56 μmol/mol creatinine) were also detected in the exposure group. In conclusion, damage to the genetic material and the high concentrations of metabolites of PAHs detected in the biological samples taken from Reboucas tunnel workers can be related to daily exposure to pollutants in the tunnel.

[1]  A. A. Kamal,et al.  Cytogenetic effects in a group of traffic policemen in Cairo. , 1988, Mutation research.

[2]  L. Knudsen,et al.  Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HP) in environmental and occupational studies--a review. , 2008, International journal of hygiene and environmental health.

[3]  T. Skopek,et al.  In vivo mutations in human blood cells: biomarkers for molecular epidemiology. , 1993, Environmental health perspectives.

[4]  Seung M. Oh,et al.  Organic extracts of urban air pollution particulate matter (PM2.5)-induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in human lung bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B cells). , 2011, Mutation research.

[5]  J. Levin,et al.  Occupational PAH exposure: urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels of coke oven workers, aluminium smelter pot-room workers, road pavers, and occupationally non-exposed persons in Sweden. , 1995, The Science of the total environment.

[6]  L. Pickle,et al.  Lung cancer in motor exhaust-related occupations. , 1989, American journal of industrial medicine.

[7]  X. Wang,et al.  Genotoxicity and chronic health effects of automobile exhaust: a study on the traffic policemen in the city of Lanzhou. , 1998, Mutation research.

[8]  B. Karahalil,et al.  The micronucleus assay in exfoliated buccal cells: application to occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. , 1999, Mutation research.

[9]  P Boffetta,et al.  Occupational exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and respiratory and urinary tract cancers: a quantitative review to 2005. , 2006, Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology.

[10]  David M DeMarini,et al.  Genotoxicity biomarkers associated with exposure to traffic and near-road atmospheres: a review. , 2013, Mutagenesis.

[11]  J. Kongerud,et al.  Increased risk of obstructive pulmonary disease in tunnel workers , 2000, Thorax.

[12]  C. R. Rainho,et al.  Seasonal variations in the level of mutagenicity: an assessment of respirable particulate matter in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , 2014 .

[13]  Siwatt Pongpiachan,et al.  Assessing risks to adults and preschool children posed by PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during a biomass burning episode in Northern Thailand. , 2015, The Science of the total environment.

[14]  A. Hallare,et al.  Monitoring genotoxicity among gasoline station attendants and traffic enforcers in the City of Manila using the micronucleus assay with exfoliated epithelial cells , 2009, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[15]  R. Pasquini,et al.  Evaluation of Primary DNA Damage, Cytogenetic Biomarkers and Genetic Polymorphisms for CYP1A1 and GSTM1 in Road Tunnel Construction Workers , 2008, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[16]  M Fenech,et al.  The cytokinesis-block micronucleus technique and its application to genotoxicity studies in human populations. , 1993, Environmental health perspectives.

[17]  D. Loomis,et al.  Urinary biomarkers in charcoal workers exposed to wood smoke in Bahia State, Brazil. , 2004, Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology.

[18]  J. Buchet,et al.  Determinants of urinary thioethers, D-glucaric acid and mutagenicity after exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons assessed by air monitoring and measurement of 1-hydroxypyrene in urine: a cross-sectional study in workers of coke and graphite-electrode-producing plants , 1994, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[19]  Bensu Karahalil,et al.  Chromosomal damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes of traffic policemen and taxi drivers exposed to urban air pollution. , 2002, Chemosphere.

[20]  C. Bolognesi,et al.  Airborne levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: 32P-postlabeling DNA adducts and micronuclei in white blood cells from traffic police workers and urban residents. , 1997, Journal of environmental pathology, toxicology and oncology : official organ of the International Society for Environmental Toxicology and Cancer.

[21]  K. Gardiner,et al.  Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in coal liquefaction workers: the value of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene excretion in the development of occupational hygiene control strategies. , 1995, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[22]  C. R. Rainho,et al.  Prediction of health risk due to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons present in urban air in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. , 2013, Genetics and molecular research : GMR.

[23]  N. Holland,et al.  Cytogenetic damage in buccal epithelia and peripheral lymphocytes of young healthy individuals exposed to ozone. , 2006, Mutagenesis.

[24]  S. Sellappa,et al.  ASSESSMENT OF GENOTOXICITY IN EXFOLIATED BUCCAL EPITHELIAL CELLS OF FOUNDRY WORKERS OCCUPATIONALLY EXPOSED TO POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS , 2013 .

[25]  Eunil Lee,et al.  Evaluation of biological monitoring markers using genomic and proteomic analysis for automobile emission inspectors and waste incinerating workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or 2,3,7,8,-tetracholrodedibenzo-p-dioxins , 2004, Experimental & Molecular Medicine.

[26]  I. Felzenszwalb,et al.  Genotoxicity of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Nitro-Derived in Respirable Airborne Particulate Matter Collected from Urban Areas of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) , 2013, BioMed research international.

[27]  J. Buchet,et al.  Evaluation of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a coke production and a graphite electrode manufacturing plant: assessment of urinary excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene as a biological indicator of exposure. , 1992, British journal of industrial medicine.

[28]  J. Angerer,et al.  New reference value and the background exposure for the PAH metabolites 1-hydroxypyrene and 1- and 2-naphthol in urine of the general population in Germany: basis for validation of human biomonitoring data in environmental medicine. , 2008, International journal of hygiene and environmental health.

[29]  S. Sellappa,et al.  Evaluation of genotoxicity in petrol station workers in South India using micronucleus assay. , 2010, Industrial health.

[30]  P. S. Nielsen,et al.  Chromosomal aberrations in humans induced by urban air pollution: influence of DNA repair and polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferase M1 and N-acetyltransferase 2. , 1999, Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology.

[31]  The Effects of Environmental Pollution with Heavy Metals in Frequency of Micronuclei in Epithelial Buccal Cells of Human Population in Mitrovica , 2012 .

[32]  P. Tolbert,et al.  Micronuclei and other nuclear anomalies in buccal smears: methods development. , 1992, Mutation research.

[33]  P. S. Nielsen,et al.  Biomarkers for exposure to ambient air pollution--comparison of carcinogen-DNA adduct levels with other exposure markers and markers for oxidative stress. , 1999, Environmental health perspectives.

[34]  L. Naeher,et al.  A review of traffic-related air pollution exposure assessment studies in the developing world. , 2006, Environment international.

[35]  A. Valavanidis,et al.  Airborne Particulate Matter and Human Health: Toxicological Assessment and Importance of Size and Composition of Particles for Oxidative Damage and Carcinogenic Mechanisms , 2008, Journal of environmental science and health. Part C, Environmental carcinogenesis & ecotoxicology reviews.

[36]  G Eisenbrand,et al.  Genotoxic effects of 2-trans-hexenal in human buccal mucosa cells in vivo. , 1997, Mutation research.