Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Volume 17, Issue 6, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17061811
Keywords
electric steel foundry; metals; urine; biological monitoring; occupational exposure; biological limit values; 8-oxo-7; 8-dihydro-2 '-deoxyguanosine; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Funding
- Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- University of Monastir
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In this study, the urinary concentrations of selected metals in workers from an electric steel foundry in Tunisia were assessed and compared with existing biological limit values and general population reference values. Moreover, the association between oxidative DNA damage, measured as urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and co-exposure to metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was evaluated. Urinary levels of 12 metals were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in end-shift spot samples from 89 workers. The urinary levels of phenanthrene (U-PHE), as marker of exposure to PAHs, and 8-oxodG were also available. Median levels ranged from 0.4 mu g/L (cobalt, Co, and thallium, Tl) to 895 mu g/L (zinc, Zn). Only 1% of samples was above the biological limit values for Co, and up to 13.5% of samples were above limit values for Cd. From 3.4% (Co) to 72% (lead, Pb) of samples were above the reference values for the general population. Multiple linear regression models, showed that manganese (Mn), Zn, arsenic (As), barium (Ba), Tl, and Pb were significant predictors of 8-oxodG (0.012 <= p <= 0.048); U-PHE was also a significant predictor (0.003 <= p <= 0.059). The variance explained by models was low (0.11 <= R-2 <= 0.17, p < 0.005), showing that metals and PAHs were minor contributors to 8-oxodG. Overall, the comparison with biological limit values showed that the study subjects were occupationally exposed to metals, with levels exceeding biological limit values only for Cd.
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