Exposure of thermoelectric power-plant workers to volatile organic compounds from fuel oil: Genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in buccal epithelial cells

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThermoelectric power-plant workers are constantly exposed to high levels of potentially genotoxic gaseous substances, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the combustion of fuel oil or the processing of naphtha. The aim of the present study was to estimate the association between such occupational exposure and the frequency of micronucleated cells and cells with other nuclear anomalies.Buccal epithelial cells were collected from a total of 44 power-plant workers (exposed group) and 47 administrative workers (non-exposed group), and examined for the frequency of micronucleated cells (MNC) and of cells with other nuclear anomalies (ONA: pyknosis, karyolysis, and karyorrhexis) by means of the micronucleus assay. The frequencies of MNC and ONA per 1000 cells in the exposed group (1.8‰ and 82.4‰, respectively) were significantly higher than in the non-exposed group (0.2‰ and 58.3‰, respectively). The exposed group had a twelve-fold increase in risk for formation of MNC compared with non-exposed individuals (RR = 12.1; 95% CI, 5.0-29.2; P < 0.001). The confounding factors analyzed (age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and mouthwash use) did not show any significant association with the frequency of MNC or ONA.The findings of this study show that workers from power plants exposed to VOCs have a significantly elevated risk for DNA damage. Therefore, bio-monitoring of DNA damage is recommended for this group of workers.

Riesgos y peligros laborales en termoeléctricas

“…Respecto a riesgos químicos, los gases resultado de la combustión de carbón pueden originar aberraciones cromosómicas, poliploidía, intercambio de cromátidas, células micro nucleadas en linfocitos, generando daños genéticos y posibles enfermedades en la sangre 5 , igualmente la exposición a COV originan células micronucleadas 13 ; no obstante, la morbilidad debido al riesgo químico se debe a las enfermedades respiratorias como bronquitis, asma y pericarditis por exposición a productos generados en la quema de combustibles como metales pesados, compuestos orgánicos volátiles (COV), hidrocarburos policíclicos aromáticos (HPA), cenizas; un estudio relaciona directamente la inhalación de compuestos de la combustión del carbón con crisis obstructivas bronquiales (COB) 20 .…”

Evidence of DNA damage in humans inhabiting a volcanically active environment: A useful tool for biomonitoring

“…In the present study, none of the analyzed lifestyle and host confounding factors was significantly associated to the frequency of MNC or ONA. Though tobacco is known to contain various genotoxic chemicals (Pappas et al, 2006;Speit et al, 2003), several authors have also found that the occurrence of MNC or ONA was not significantly associated to smoking status in individuals exposed to other potentially carcinogenic substances, such as fuel derivatives (Garcia et al, 2012;Hallare et al, 2009;Martins et al, 2009) or pesticides (Martínez-Valenzuela et al, 2009;Rozgaj et al, 2009). Alcohol is also described as a genotoxic substance (Maluf and Erdtmann, 2000), but in this study, as well as in others (Garcia et al, 2012;Hallare et al, 2009;Martínez-Valenzuela et al, 2009) its consumption was not significantly associated with the increase in the frequency of MNC or ONA in the buccal epithelia.…”

“…Karryohexis, karyolysis and pyknosis are associated with both cytotoxicity (necrosis and keratinization) and genotoxicity (apoptosis) accompanying the early stages of apoptosis (Tolbert et al, 1991(Tolbert et al, , 1992, and thus are also considered effective biomarkers for populations exposed to mutagenic and carcinogenic agents (Salama et al, 1999). The micronucleus assay with exfoliated cells is emerging as a preferential method to measure that type of damage (Holland et al, 2008), because it is considered a sensitive and non-invasive method for monitoring DNA damage in human populations (Bloching et al, 2000;Garcia et al, 2012;Majer et al, 2001). Recently, such approaches have been frequently used in biomonitoring studies of occupational and environmental exposure to carcinogenic substances (e.g., Garcia et al, 2012;Hallare et al, 2009;Martínez-Valenzuela et al, 2009;Martins et al, 2009;Rozgaj et al, 2009), but to our knowledge no study has been done to assess the risk of DNA damage in individuals inhabiting volcanically active environments.…”

“…The micronucleus assay with exfoliated cells is emerging as a preferential method to measure that type of damage (Holland et al, 2008), because it is considered a sensitive and non-invasive method for monitoring DNA damage in human populations (Bloching et al, 2000;Garcia et al, 2012;Majer et al, 2001). Recently, such approaches have been frequently used in biomonitoring studies of occupational and environmental exposure to carcinogenic substances (e.g., Garcia et al, 2012;Hallare et al, 2009;Martínez-Valenzuela et al, 2009;Martins et al, 2009;Rozgaj et al, 2009), but to our knowledge no study has been done to assess the risk of DNA damage in individuals inhabiting volcanically active environments. Since previous studies in Furnas have showed that: (i) soil invertebrates and mice present high levels of trace metals, such as Cd and Zn (A.…”

Radon Exposure and Human Health: What Happens in Volcanic Environments?

“…This technique is minimally invasive [37] and is frequently used in biomonitoring studies of occupational and environmental exposure to carcinogenic substances [38][39][40].…”