Biomarkers of Low-Level Environmental Exposure to Benzene and Oxidative DNA Damage in Primary School Children in Sardinia, Italy

Abstract

Background: The main anthropic sources of exposure to airborne benzene include vehicular traffic, cigarette smoke, and industrial emissions. Methods: To detect early genotoxic effects of environmental exposure to benzene, we monitored environmental, personal, and indoor airborne benzene in children living in an urban area and an area near a petrochemical plant. We also used urinary benzene and S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) as biomarkers of benzene exposure and urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) as a biomarker of early genotoxic effects. Results: Although always below the European Union limit of 5 μg/m3, airborne benzene levels were more elevated in the indoor, outdoor, and personal samples from the industrial surroundings compared to the urban area (p = 0.026, p = 0.005, and p = 0.001, respectively). Children living in the surroundings of the petrochemical plant had urinary benzene values significantly higher than those from the urban area in both the morning and evening samples (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). Results of multiple regression modelling showed that age was a significant predictor of 8-OHdG excretion, independent of the sampling hour. Moreover, at the low exposure level experienced by the children participating in this study, neither personal or indoor airborne benzene level, nor personal monitoring data, affected 8-OHdG excretion. Conclusions: Our results suggest the importance of biological monitoring of low-level environmental exposure and its relation to risk of genotoxic effects among children.

Biological monitoring and personal exposure to traffic-related air pollutants of elementary school-age children living in a metropolitan area

“…All models were controlled by the education level of the parent who filled the questionnaire, the sex of the child, and the number of members of the family. Predictors are reported when p < 0.1. benzene are similar to those reported for children living in an industrial area in Sardinia (Italy) in 2016 (median 1.6 μg/m 3 ) (Pilia et al, 2021) and higher than those reported for children living in South Korea in 2008 (median 0.3 μg/m 3 ) (Byun et al, 2010). Children exposure to benzene and to the other studied VOCs was also similar to or lower than that observed in our previous study on adults living and working in Milan (median for BEN-A 2.3 μg/m 3 ) (Cattaneo et al, 2021).…”

“…In this sense, a significant result of this study is the relatively high participation rate, which benefited from the participatory approach of the study, as showed by the increased participation in the second campaign (Boniardi et al, 2021a). The overall BEN-U median level (44.9 ng/L) was similar to that reported for Italian children living in Central Italy in 2017 (winter mean 41.1 ng/L) (Antonucci et al, 2021), higher than in children living near or far from a petrochemical plant in Sardinia (Italy) in 2016 (10 ng/L) (Pilia et al, 2021), and much lower than in children living near or far from a petrochemical plant in Sicily in 2015 (Italy) (200 ng/L) (Andreoli et al, 2015), or in a urban area in Thailand in 2004 (70 ng/g creatinine) (Buthbumrung et al, 2008). BEN-U median levels were also slightly lower than in nonsmoking adults in Milan (67 ng/L) (Cattaneo et al, 2021).…”

“…Besides, biological monitoring allows the assessment of the internal dose of pollutants integrating all exposure sources and routes, taking into account the interaction between the individual and the environment (Fustinoni et al, 2010). In the last decades, personal exposure of schoolage children has been the focus of numerous scientific contributions, however only a few of them simultaneously considered ambient and biological monitoring (Minoia et al, 1996;Park and Jo, 2004;Lagorio et al, 2013;Pilia et al, 2021). Nevertheless, none of these contributions reported information or analyzed the influence of children time-activity patterns on exposure.…”

Temporal Variations in Urban Air Pollution during a 2021 Field Campaign: A Case Study of Ethylene, Benzene, Toluene, and Ozone Levels in Southern Romania

“…Benzene (C 6 H 6 ) is a compound found in various fuels, showing very low solubility in water and high volatility. It is also ranked in group 1 of substances with carcinogenic effects for humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [7]. Toluene (C 7 H 8 ) is a VOC present in crude oil and petroleum.…”