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Nineteen male rubber workers and 20 age matched referents from four rubber factories in Northern Italy were monitored in a study conducted to determine genotoxic hazards involved in rubber processing. Interviews were conducted to obtain data on confounding factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, medicine use, and medical exposure to radiation. Blood samples were collected for the analysis of DNA damage and cytogenetic parameters; DNA damage was assessed by single cell microgel electrophoresis or comet assay, and cytogenetic parameters were evaluated by sister chromatid exchanges and micronuclei (MN) frequency as well as the proliferative rate index. Urine samples were analyzed using a mutagenicity test and thioether concentration as exposure markers; excretion of D-glucaric-acid (DGA) and 6-beta-hydroxycortisol (6-beta-OHC) were examined as indicators of the induction of the microsomal enzyme system. The mean age for the exposed subjects and their comparisons were 33.1 and 33.8 years, respectively. No statistical differences in urine mutagenicity or thioether excretion were found between exposed and nonexposed subjects. Exposed subjects had lower levels of 6-beta-OHC compared to referents when smoking was accounted for; statistically higher mean values of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids, DGA, and micronuclei were also seen. Higher values for migration distance were found in exposed subjects as indicated by the comet assay, but these differences were not statistically significant. Exposed subjects also had significantly higher frequencies of MN, but did not differ in SCE frequency when compared with referents. The authors conclude that rubber industry workers are exposed to chemicals which have the ability to impact on DNA structure, as indicated by higher MN frequencies and higher mean values of migration distances in the comet assay. The activity of some enzymes may also be changed. Caution was suggested in making conclusions based on the study results due to the small number of subjects and to the inconsistent results regarding the microsomal enzyme system.
Environmental Health Perspectives, 104(3):543-545, 1996. (21 references)
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