Annals of Occupational Hygiene Advance Access published online on June 23, 2006
Annals of Occupational Hygiene, doi:10.1093/annhyg/mel036
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1 Toxicology Unit, University of A Coruña, Edificio de Servicios Centrales de Investigación, Campus Elviña s/n, 15071-A Coruña, Spain
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. A broad spectrum of substances is used in the rubber industry, many of them being genotoxic and/or carcinogenic. Convincing evidence of an excess of certain forms of cancer among rubber workers has been provided. The objective of this study was to determine the genotoxic effects in a group of individuals engaged in the production of rubber tyres from a Portuguese factory. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 32 exposed workers and 32 controls, and micronucleus (MN) test, sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) and comet assay were performed. Urinary thioethers were measured as a general biomarker of exposure to electrophilic compounds, and genetic polymorphisms in metabolizing enzymes (CYP2E1 Dra I, EPHX1 codons 113 and 139, GSTP1 codon 105, and GSTM1 and GSTT1 deletion polymorphisms) were analysed as susceptibility biomarkers. Excretion of thioethers was found significantly higher in rubber workers. Also, a non-significant increase in MN frequency related to time of exposure and no effect in SCE were observed in the exposed. Comet assay data showed decreased TL values in the exposed population with respect to the control group, this might indicate the induction of crosslinks by the substances present in the workplace environment. Significant increase in MN frequency was obtained for GSTT1 null exposed individuals with respect to positive ones, and interaction with GSTP1 polymorphism was found. Higher levels of cytogenetic test frequencies were observed in epoxide hydrolase expected low activity donors with respect to medium and high activity individuals. No effect of CYP2E1 or GSTM1 variants was obtained in the biomarkers analysed.
Received January 9, 2006
Accepted April 12, 2006
Article
Assessment of Occupational Genotoxic Risk in the Production of Rubber Tyres
Blanca Laffon 1 * 
,
Joao Paulo Teixeira 2 ,
Susana Silva 2,
Joana Roma-Torres 2,
Beatriz Pérez-Cadahía 1,
Josefina Méndez 3,
Eduardo Pásaro 1,
and
Olga Mayan 2
2 National Institute of Health, Environmental Health and Toxicology Department, Largo 1 Dezembro, 4000-Porto, Portugal
3 Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of A Coruña, Faculty of Sciences, Campus A Zapateira s/n, 15071-A Coruña, Spain
Blanca Laffon, E-mail: blaffon{at}udc.es
Abstract The first two authors contributed equally to this work.
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