A multi‐biomarker analysis of DNA damage in automobile painters

Abstract

The genotoxic effects associated with automobile painting were analyzed using a panel of biomarkers. Chromosomal aberrations (CAs), sister chromatid exchange (SCE), and micronuclei were evaluated in 25 car painters (12 smokers, 13 nonsmokers) working in different automobile paint-shops in Italy and in 37 control subjects. The controls were healthy blood donors (14 smokers, 23 non-smokers) that were matched with the experimental population for gender and age. Air samples were analyzed regularly at the work places, and elevated concentrations of benzene and toluene were detected consistently. The exposed group had higher frequencies of CAs (both chromosome- and chromatid-type), micronuclei, and SCE (P < 0.5 - P < 0.001). Furthermore, exposed and control subjects were also genotyped for GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphism. No significant associations were detected between the biomarker responses and either the GSTM1 or GSTT1 genotype of the subjects, but the small sample size does not allow definite conclusions on the relationship between the genetic polymorphism and the biomarkers. The results indicate that automobile painters have increased levels of clastogenic and possible aneugenic damage and that smoking may be a confounding factor for the responses.

Occupational risk assessment of oxidative stress and genotoxicity in workers exposed to paints during a working week

“…Although many works have shown an increase in micronuclei frequency in painters [17][18][19] another work [20] has already reported no differences in this cytogenetic parameter in workers exposed to paints, which agrees with our results. Furthermore, a study on human lymphocytes showed that some solvents found in paints (toluene, benzene and acetone) were unable to induce formation of micronuclei [43].…”

“…Nonetheless, the occupational exposure to paints is poorly studied. There are some reports about DNA damage induction by paint exposure [16][17][18][19], however, it was also demonstrated that paint/organic solvents exposure was not able to induce mutagenic effects in paint workers [3,20]. A wide range of methods is currently being used for detecting early biological effects of DNA-damaging agents in occupational settings.…”

Changes in Oxidative Stress Biomarker and Gene Expression Levels in Workers Exposed to Volatile Organic Compounds

“…The mean exposure to toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene were 2.16 ppm, 6.05 ppm and 9.78 ppm, but benzene was not detected in the workplace. In general, the levels were lower than those of workplace exposure to VOCs in other studies 7,[18][19][20] .…”

“…Therefore, we tried to evaluate the effect of exposure to VOCs on molecular and biological consequences in this study. We limited the present study to four VOC compounds-benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene-to which workers are frequently exposed in the workplace [18][19][20] . Metabolites of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene are mainly excreted in the urine (as MuA, HA, MaA, and MHA) and level of the metabolites clearly reveal the level of their exposures, which allowed us to quantify their exposures 21) .…”

Bioremediation of Oil-Based Paint from Aqueous Media by Novel Indigenous Brevibacillus parabrevis Strain NAP3 and its Toxicity Assessment

“…Most researchers have focused mainly on oil-based paint toxicity and its hazardous impacts on the environment [1]. Multiple cytogenetic effects among car painters have been previously reported [5], who found that exposed subjects had higher frequencies of chromosomal aberrations than unexposed control subjects.…”