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Correlations of Blood Lead with DNA-Protein Cross-Links and Sister Chromatid Exchanges in Lead Workers¹

Institute of Environmental Health [F-Y. W., P-W. C., H-W. K.] and Department of Public Health [C-C. W.], China Medical College, Taichung, and Department of Nuclear Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu [C-C. W.], Taiwan, Republic of China

Levels of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs), high-SCE frequency cells (HFCs), DNA-protein cross-links (DPCs), blood lead (BLL), and zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) were measured in peripheral blood from three groups. The lead workers were divided into two groups: a high BLL group (15µg/dl) and a low BLL group (<15 µg/dl). The control subjects were selected from an area that had not been contaminated with lead and had normal BLL and ZPP levels. In addition, exposure to airborne lead was measured for 11 lead workers, and the time-weighted average was shown to range from 0.19 to 10.32 mg/m³. The BLL levels of 9 of 11 workers were >15 µg/dl, of which, 3 exceeded current exposure limits (40 µg/dl). The BLL levels of all 11 controls were <15 µg/dl. The average SCE and DPC values for the workers were 6.1 SCEs/cell and 1.9%, which were significantly higher (P < 0.01, Wilcoxon’s test) than the value of 5.2 SCEs/cell and 1.1% for the control subjects. Lead workers had significantly higher BLL and ZPP levels than did the controls. Statistically significant increases in DPCs, SCEs, and HFCs were observed for the high-BLL group compared with the control group. The results of this study suggest that DPCs, SCEs, and HFCs are reliable biomarkers for monitoring workers exposed to lead and clearly indicate health effects from occupational exposure to lead.