Occupational risk assessment of paint industry workers.

BACKGROUND: Thousands of chemical compounds are used in paint products, like pigments, extenders, binders, additives, and solvents (toluene, xylene, ketones, alcohols, esters, and glycol ethers). Paint manufacture workers are potentially exposed to the chemicals present in paint products although the patterns and levels of exposure to individual agents may differ from those of painters. The aim of the present study was to evaluate genome damage induced in peripheral blood lymphocytes and oral mucosa cells of paint industry workers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Genotoxicity was evaluated using the alkaline Comet assay in blood lymphocytes and oral mucosa cells, and the Micronucleus test in oral mucosa cells. For the micronucleus test in exfoliated buccal cells, no significant difference was detected between the control and paint industry workers. RESULTS: The Comet assay in epithelia buccal cells showed that the damage index (DI) and damage frequency (DF) observed in the exposed group were significantly higher relative to the control group (P≤0.05). In the same way, the Comet assay data in peripheral blood leukocytes showed that both analysis parameters (DI and DF) were significantly greater than that for the control group (P≤0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Chronic occupational exposure to paints may lead to a slightly increased risk of genetic damage among paint industry workers.

DNA damage after acute and chronic treatment with malathion in rats.

Malathion is an insecticide widely used in agriculture and in public health programs that when used indiscriminately in large amounts can cause environmental pollution and risk to human health. However, it is possible that during the metabolism of malathion, reactive oxygen species can be generated, and malathion may produce oxidative stress in intoxicated rats that can be responsible for alterations in DNA molecules related in some studies. As a result, the present study aimed to investigate the DNA damage of cerebral tissue and peripheral blood in rats after acute and chronic malathion exposure. We used single cell gel electrophoresis (Comet assay) to measure early damage in hippocampus and peripheral blood and the Micronucleus test in total erythrocytes samples. Malathion was administered intraperitoneally once a day for one day (acute) or for 28 days (chronic) protocols (in both protocols, malathion was administered at 25, 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg). Our results showed that malathion (100 and 150 mg/kg) increased the DNA damage index in the peripheral blood and in the hippocampus after both chronic and acute treatment. Malathion increased the frequency of micronuclei only in chronic treatment at 150 mg/kg dose, and induced a cytotoxic dose-dependent decrease in the frequency of polychromatic erythrocytes in the peripheral blood of rats. In conclusion, since malathion increased both the peripheral blood and hippocampus DNA damage index using the Comet assay and increased the frequency of micronuclei in the total peripheral blood, it can be regarded as a potential mutagen/carcinogenic agent.