Assessment of genotoxic exposure in Swedish coke-oven work by different methods of biological monitoring.
研究同时使用多种生物监测方法评估瑞典焦炉工人的遗传毒性暴露，发现细胞遗传损伤、尿液致突变性和硫醚排泄在工人与对照组间无差异，但吸烟者显著更高，表明这些方法不足以评估该人群的致癌风险。
This study evaluated the results of several biological methods used simultaneously to monitor coke-oven work. Blood samples from 44 male coke-oven workers and 48 male referents, matched for age and smoking/snuff consumption, were examined for cytogenetic damage in lymphocytes. Urinary thioether excretion was determined for 62, and urine mutagenicity for 31, of the subjects, who followed a standardized diet during the urine sampling. Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons varied with work task, the ambient air levels of benzo[a]pyrene sometimes exceeding 5 micrograms/m3. Cytogenetic damage, urine mutagenicity, and thioether excretion did not differ between the groups. The smokers, however, had significantly higher sister chromatid exchange frequencies, urine mutagenicity, and thioether excretion than the nonsmokers. The absence of biological indications of genotoxic exposure was unexpected and indicates that the studied methods are not adequate to assess the carcinogenic risks of Swedish coke-oven workers.