Naphthalene and its biomarkers as measures of occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) include compounds with two or more fused benzene rings, many of which are carcinogens. Industrial sources produce hundreds of PAH, notably in the coke- and aluminium-producing industries. Because PAH are distributed at varying levels between gaseous and particulate phases, exposure assessment has been problematic. Here, we recommend that occupational exposures to naphthalene be considered as a potential surrogate for occupational PAH exposure for three reasons. Naphthalene is usually the most abundant PAH in a given workplace; naphthalene is present almost entirely in the gaseous phase and is, therefore, easily measured; and naphthalene offers several useful biomarkers, including the urinary metabolites 1- and 2-hydroxynaphthalene. These biomarkers can be used to evaluate total-body exposure to PAH, in much the same way that 1-hydroxypyrene has been applied. Using data from published sources, we show that log-transformed airborne levels of naphthalene are highly correlated with those of total PAH (minus naphthalene) in several industries (creosote impregnation: Pearson r= 0.815, coke production: r= 0.917, iron foundry: r= 0.854, aluminium production: r= 0.933). Furthermore, the slopes of the log-log regressions are close to one indicating that naphthalene levels are proportional to those of total PAH in those industries. We also demonstrate that log-transformed urinary levels of the hydroxynaphthalenes are highly correlated with those of 1-hydroxypyrene among coke oven workers and controls (r= 0.857 and 0.876), again with slopes of log-log regressions close to one. These results support the conjecture that naphthalene is a useful metric for occupational PAH exposure. Since naphthalene has also been shown to be a respiratory carcinogen in several animal studies, it is also argued that naphthalene exposures should be monitored per se in industries with high levels of PAH.     

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency by steroid analysis in the amniotic fluid of mid-pregnancy: Comparison with HLA typing in 17 pregnancies at risk for CAH

Amniotic fluid (AF) levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) and testosterone (T) were determined at 16–17 weeks in 17 pregnancies at risk for CAH and results compared to 75 normal controls. The fetus was predicted to be unaffected in 12 cases on the findings of normal AF levels of both 17OHP and T and the latter allowed a correct prediction of fetal sex in all instances. HLA typing confirmed normality in 12 cases revealing 5 carriers, 5 homozygous normal and 2 indeterminate. Steroid levels of the 2 groups were similar. Three fetuses were predicted to be CAH affected on unambiguously high levels of 17OHP and T (in female only). HLA typing was in agreement, and the diagnosis was confirmed in 2 abortuses and a female newborn by physical and hormonal studies. In the last 2 cases AF levels of OHP and T were normal but HLA (A/B/C) genotypes were identical to the CAH affected siblings. Normal physical and hormonal findings in the 2 aborted fetuses would exclude the possibility of an in utero virilizing form of CAH. The discrepancy could be explained on the basis that the fetuses had an allelic form of 21-hydroxylase deficiency or on the basis of recombination (not fully tested). It is concluded that a fully informative prenatal diagnosis of CAH should not rely entirely on HLA typing but on hormonal studies.     

Hematology and Some Biochemical Parameters of Wild Rodents in Pistachio Gardens of Kerman Province, Southeast Iran

Wild rodents were collected using live snap traps in pistachio gardens of Kerman Province, Southeast Iran from 2007 to 2009, then some physiological parameters of them were measured. The samples were identified as follow: Nesokia indica, Meriones persicus, Meriones lybicus and Tatera indica. Blood samples were obtained from the heart, then the blood parameters (glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, HDL, red and white blood cell number) in wild species of rodents and laboratory rat were compared. The results showed that there were no significant differences in serum glucose, triglyceride, HDL and total protein levels among different experimental groups. The concentration of cholesterol in T. indica was more than that in N. indica (P < 0.01). The total numbers of red blood cells also showed significant difference between wild garden rodent species and laboratory rat (P < 0.01), while the numbers of white blood cells showed no significant difference.     

A passive sampling device for determining formaldehyde in indoor air

A passive sampling device based on the principle of diffusion has been developed for the determination of formaldehyde in ambient air. The sampler consists of a capped glass tube (with approximate dimensions of 2.4 × 9 cm) containing a glass-fiber filter treated with NaHSO₃. In the field, the device collects a sample by being uncapped for a specified sampling time. After being recapped and returned to the laboratory, the filter is analyzed by the chromotropic acid (CTA) method. Laboratory validation studies were conducted by exposing the sampling devices for 1 week to dry formaldehyde gas generated by passing trioxane vapor over an acid catalyst bed. In these tests, formaldehyde concentrations ranged from 0.05 to 0.80 mL/m³. Reproducibility was excellent, with relative standard deviations averaging 5.4% for five constant concentrations. The lower detection limit was determined to be 3.6 mL/m³ h. In an occupational environment an 8-h sample would be sufficient to detect compliance with the OSHA permissible exposure limit of 3 mL/m³; in a residential environment a 1-week sample would allow detection of 0.025 mL/m³ for indoor air quality audits.     

职业接触苯乙烯工人静脉血中蛋白质环氧苯乙烯加合物的分析测定

静脉血中蛋白质－环氧苯乙烯（ＳＯ）加合物的分析测定是将蛋白质中半胱氨酸残留经分解后，用Ｒａｎｅｙ Ｎｉ催化反应生成两种加合物：α－苯己醇，β－苯已醇，再用五氟苯氯衍生，ＧＣ／ＭＳ测定，用同样的方法测ＳＤ大鼠血的蛋白质加合物，结果表明动物血中蛋白质加的与实验的苯乙烯或ＳＯ剂量有较好的相关性；而且ＳＯ与半胱氨酸的反应α位强于β位，在人群实验中，对一个石棉厂职业接触苯乙烯工人静脉血中的蛋白质加合物进行测     

Investigation of protein-styrene oxide adducts as a molecularbiomarker of human exposed to styrene

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＢｉｏｍａｒｋｅｒ ,ｄｅｆｉｎｅｄａｓｃｅｌｌｕｌａｒ,ｂｉｏｃｈｅｍｉｃａｌｏｒｍｏｌｅｃｕｌａｒａｌｔｅｒａｔｉｏｎｓｔｈａｔａｒｅｍｅａｓｕｒａｂｌｅｉｎｂｉｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌｍｅｄｉａ ,ｓｕｃｈａｓｈｕｍａｎｔｉｓｓｕｅｓ ,ｃｅｌｌｓ,ｏｒｆｌｕｉｄｓ ,ｈａｖｅｂｅｅｎｕｓｅｄｂｙｇｅｎｅｒａｔｉｏｎｓｏｆｅｐｉｄｅｍｉｏｌｏｇｉｓｔｓｉｎｔｈｅｉｒｒｅｓｅａｒｃｈ .Ｍｏｌｅｃｕｌａｒｂｉｏｌｏｇｙａｎｄｌａｂｏｒａｔｏｒｙｔｅｃｈｎｏｌｏｇｙｈａｖｅｓｈｏｗｎａｎｅ…     

用增强灵敏度的~32P后标记法测定DNA-环氧苯乙烯加合物

DNA加合物是具有亲电性化学致癌物与DNA形成共价相联的化合物,是化学致癌物损伤DNA的主要形式,能够灵敏准确地分析DNA加合物的方法是研究DNA损伤     

Analysis of styrene oxide-hemoglobin adducts at different binding sites

Ａｎａｌｙｓｉｓｏｆｓｔｙｒｅｎｅｏｘｉｄｅ－ｈｅｍｏｇｌｏｂｉｎａｄｄｕｃｔｓａｔｄｉｆｅｒｅｎｔｂｉｎｄｉｎｇｓｉｔｅｓＪｉｎＺｕｌｉａｎｇ，ＬｉｕＳｈｕｆｅｎＴｈｅＲｅｓｅａｒｃｈＣｅｎｔｒｅｆｏｒＥｃｏＥｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌＳｃｉｅｎ...     

Product Guid/1977

The Product Guide series which appears in the Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association and the APCA Directory and Resource Book is a computer-based program. A questionnaire form provided entry into the program for responding manufacturers of emission control equipment and air pollution instrumentation. If any manufacturers or product categories have been overlooked, the omission is regretted and should be brought to the attention of the editor, JAPCA.