Occupational Exposure to Coal, Genotoxicity, and Cancer Risk

Abstract

Coal is a heterogeneous mixture containing large quantities of organic and inorganic matter, including carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and organometallic forms. The presence of mineral matter in coal may result in a number of environmental and human health problems related to its mining, preparation, and combustion. During coal mining activities, large quantities of coal dust, ashes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons P"Hs , and heavy metals are released into the environment, forming a complex mixture. This mixture becomes one of the most important occupational risks for the health and safety of workers due to its synergistic, additive, and enhancing effects. Once inside the organism, this cocktail-like mixture can interact with cellular mechanisms related to the production of reactive oxygen species ROS and can cause damage in important macromolecules such as DN", lipids, and proteins. In this review, human populations exposed to coal and coal burning were analyzed. Data from different studies were evaluated in relation to the effect of complex mixture exposure on DN" damage and mechanisms, and the background factors, such as gender, age, or smoking habit. The high temperatures that occur in combustion processes affect the characteristics of the resulting particles. The coal fly ash is released by combustion and its composition varies depending on the coal type and the method of collection used such as electrostatic precipitators. Compounds such as P"Hs once activated by the organisms have been shown to have mutagenic and carcinogenic activity due to its ability to form adducts with purines. Moreover, metals that commonly are evaporated during the cooling process increase its toxicity. The particles when inhaled can pass from the alveoli into the bloodstream and affect extrapulmonary organs. Several studies have described the inflammatory cascade that triggers exposure to coal and coal fly ash particles they have a complex composition capable of generating a persistent inflammatory process, resulting in diseases widely described as emphysema, bronchitis, pneumoconiosis, asthma, and cancer. Several human biomonitoring studies have been conducted evaluating the inflammatory process and

Vitamin D Status and Its Correlation With Anthropometric and Biochemical Indicators of Cardiometabolic Risk in Serbian Underground Coal Miners in 2016

“…Coal miners are a population of workers with specific nutritional needs due to their heavy physical work and unfavorable working conditions: working in shifts, working underground, and working with chronic occupational exposure to coal mine dust, which has pro-oxidative, pro-inflammatory, and pro-cancerogenic properties ( 128 – 130 ). Therefore, in the view of the science of precision nutrition, measuring the levels of VitD (which has the important metabolic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities) is very important in this population of workers to achieve their optimal nutrition, to adjust their nutrition (and possible supplementation) and meet their specific nutritional needs ( 131 ).…”

Coal Dust-Induced Systematic Hypoxia and Redox Imbalance among Coal Mine Workers

“…Coal dust, the most detrimental chemical hazard for coal miners, is generated from all coal mining activities, from excavation till processing. Almost 60 different compounds (organic and inorganic) and their oxides constitute coal dust. − Upon inhalation, this heterogeneous mixture (coal dust particles) gets deposited on the lungs of exposed workers, interacts with cellular machinery involved in balancing the reactive oxygen species (ROS), , and damages the essential macromolecules (DNA, protein, and lipids), thus stimulating a cascade of adverse effects, ranging from mild respiratory symptoms to life-threatening diseases (coughing, phlegm, wheezing, chronic bronchitis, astringent asthma, pneumoconiosis, coal workers pneumoconiosis (CWP), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), emphysema, and silicosis). ,− …”