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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure, Urinary Mutagenicity, and DNA Adducts in Rubber Manufacturing Workers

¹ Environmental Epidemiology Division, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University; ² Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; ³ Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio; and ⁴ Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, Lund, Sweden

Requests for reprints: Roel Vermeulen, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.178, Utrecht NL-3508, the Netherlands. Phone: 31-30-253-9448; Fax: 31-30-253-9449. E-mail: R.C.H.Vermeulen{at}uu.nl

Objectives: Several studies have suggested that genotoxic risks might still be present in the contemporary rubber manufacturing industry. Previously, we observed elevated levels of urinary mutagenicity and bladder DNA adducts in rubber workers. Presently, we investigated whether DNA adducts in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and/or urothelial cells may be caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or other genotoxic compounds.

Methods: Spot urine samples from 116 rubber manufacturing workers were collected on Sunday and during the workweek (post-shift) to determine 1-hydroxypyrene and mutagenicity levels. For 52 nonsmokers, urothelial cell DNA adducts and PBMC DNA adducts were measured additionally.

Results: Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels were significantly higher in workweek samples compared with Sunday (P = 0.0001). This increase was not uniform across tasks and only reached statistical significance for the curing department (+99%; P = 0.003). Weekday urinary mutagenicity was significantly increased for mixing (+56%) and curing (+21%) workers when compared with that for Sunday. Total urothelial cell DNA adducts were related to urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (P = 0.021) and mutagenicity (P = 0.027). No significant relationship was found between the adduct levels in PBMC and urothelial cells or between the former and urinary 1-hydroxypyrene or mutagenicity.

Conclusions: Workers in the compounding, mixing, and curing departments were at highest genotoxic risk among rubber manufacturing workers. Increased levels of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene, mutagenicity, and urothelial cell DNA adducts were found in these workers. Urothelial cell and PBMC DNA adducts were not related, hinting possibly to the presence of specific bladder carcinogens in the rubber manufacturing industry. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(6):1452–9)