RESUMEN
This research was designed to examine the presence of mutagenic/carcinogenic compounds in airborne pollutants in the rubber industry using an integrated chemical/biological approach. Inhalable airborne particulate matter (PM-10: <10 microm) was collected in four rubber factories using a high-volume sampler equipped with a cascade impactor for particle fractionation. The organic extracts of two different fractions (0.5-10 microm and <0.5 microm) were examined for mutagenicity with the Ames test and for in vitro DNA-damaging activity in human leukocytes by single-cell microgel electrophoresis (Comet assay). The extracts were also studied by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. Nitrosamines in ambient air were sampled on cartridges and analysed by GC with a thermal energy analyser (TEA) detector. Airborne volatile genotoxins were monitored in situ using a clastogenicity plant test (Tradescantia/micronuclei test). The results showed that airborne particulates were mainly very fine (<0.5 microm) and that trace amounts of genotoxic nitrosamines (N-nitrosodimethylamine: 0.10-0.98 microg/m(3); N-nitrosomorpholine: 0.77-2.40 microg/m(3)) and PAH (total PAH: 0.34-11.35 microg/m(3)) were present in air samples. Some extracts, particularly those obtained from the finest fractions, were mutagenic with the Ames test and genotoxic with the Comet assay. In situ monitoring of volatile mutagens using the Tradescantia/micronuclei test gave positive results in two working environments. The results showed the applicability of this integrated chemical-biological approach for detecting volatile and non-volatile genotoxins and for monitoring genotoxic hazards in the rubber industry.
Asunto(s)
Contaminantes Ocupacionales del Aire/toxicidad , Industria Química , Daño del ADN , Leucocitos/efectos de los fármacos , Goma , Salmonella typhimurium/efectos de los fármacos , Contaminantes Ocupacionales del Aire/aislamiento & purificación , Animales , Ensayo Cometa , ADN Bacteriano/efectos de los fármacos , ADN Bacteriano/genética , ADN de Plantas/efectos de los fármacos , ADN de Plantas/genética , Cromatografía de Gases y Espectrometría de Masas , Genes Bacterianos/efectos de los fármacos , Masculino , Pruebas de Micronúcleos , Microsomas Hepáticos/metabolismo , Pruebas de Mutagenicidad , Nitrosaminas/aislamiento & purificación , Nitrosaminas/toxicidad , Tamaño de la Partícula , Plantas/efectos de los fármacos , Plantas/genética , Hidrocarburos Policíclicos Aromáticos/aislamiento & purificación , Hidrocarburos Policíclicos Aromáticos/toxicidad , Ratas , Ratas Sprague-Dawley , Salmonella typhimurium/genética , VolatilizaciónRESUMEN
Dental laboratory technicians may be exposed to a number of toxic materials including metal alloys that have been identified as potential health hazards. Particularly, alloys, such as vitallium, wisil, duralium and vironite which in dentistry are used in the production of crowns, bridges and dental prostheses. The most common constituents of these prostheses are cobalt (45-70%), chromium (25-30%), molybdenum, silica, nickle, tantalum and other metals in different amounts. The objectives of this paper are to describe the technology related to the production of dental prostheses, evaluating the most hazardous working jobs and reporting results concerning the monitoring of cobalt and chromium in the urine of 31 people employed in five laboratories of Bergamo, Italy, where workplace air monitoring has also been undertaken.