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URINARY BIOMARKERS IN CHARCOAL WORKERS EXPOSED TO WOOD SMOKE IN BAHIA STATE, BRAZIL
Citation:
Kato, M., D. Loomis, L. M. Brooks, G. F. Gattas, L. Gomes, A. B. Carvalho, M. Rego, AND D M. DeMarini. URINARY BIOMARKERS IN CHARCOAL WORKERS EXPOSED TO WOOD SMOKE IN BAHIA STATE, BRAZIL. CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY, BIOMARKERS, AND PREVENTION 13(6):1005-1012, (2004).
Impact/Purpose:
to evaluate the occupational exposure to wood smoke and potential genotoxic effects on workers
Description:
Charcoal is an important source of energy for domestic and industrial use in many countries. In Brazil, the largest producer of charcoal in the world, approximately 350,000 workers are linked to the production and transportation of charcoal. In order to evaluate the occupational exposure to wood smoke and potential genotoxic effects on workers in charcoal production, we studied urinary mutagenicity and urinary levels of 2-naphthol and 1-pyrenol in 154 workers of northeastern Bahia. Workers were classified into 3 categories according to their working location, and information about socio-demographic data, diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking was obtained using a standard questionnaire. Spot urine samples were collected to evaluate urinary mutagenicity and urinary metabolites. Urinary mutagenicity increased significantly with exposure to wood smoke and was modified by smoking. The prevalence odds ratio (POR) was 5.31, and the 95% confidence interval (CI) was 1.85; 15.27 for urinary mutagenicity in the highly exposed group relative to the nonexposed group. The levels of urinary metabolites increased monotonically with wood-smoke exposure and were associated with the GSTM1 polymorphism. The POR (95% CI) for higher levels of 2-naphtol among the highly exposed was 17.13 (6.91; 42.44) and for 1-pyrenol 11.55 (5.32; 25.08) when compared to nonexposed workers. Urinary 2-naphthol was the most sensitive indicator of wood smoke exposure. This is the first reported measurement of internal exposure to wood smoke among charcoal workers, and the results showed that these workers receive a systemic exposure to genotoxic compounds.