Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Deoxyribonucleic Acid (PAH-DNA) Adduct Levels and Exposure to Coke Oven: Emissions among Workers in Taiwan

In this study, the authors evaluated the relationship between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-deoxyribonucleic acid (PAH-DNA) adduct levels in workers' peripheral white blood cells (WBCs) and their occupational exposures to coke oven emissions (measured by air and urinary 1-hydroxypyrene [1-OHP]). Personal exposures to smoking, charbroiled food, changing clothes in the workplace, and respirator use were determined by questionnaire. Eighty-nine coke oven workers were divided into 3 exposure groups on the basis of job description: topside workers, cokeside workers, and plant office staff. Referent subjects comprised 63 individuals from the same company who worked at a site remote from the coking plant. The geometric mean (GM) PAH-DNA adduct levels determined from the WBCs of the exposed groups were 6.86, 1.56, and 0.90 adducts/108 nucleotides, respectively (referents = 0.38 adducts/10⁸ nucleotides). GM personal benzene soluble fraction (BSF) exposures for the exposed groups were 483.2 μg/m³, 70.1 μg/m³, and 43.2 μg/m³, respectively (referents = 10.7 μg/m³). There was a significant correlation (p < 0.05) between individual BSF and PAH-DNA adduct levels for the exposed groups. The authors also found a significant correlation (p < 0.05) between urinary 1-OHP levels from the day 2 samples of the exposed groups and their PAH-DNA adduct levels. The logistic-regression model revealed that PAH-DNA adduct levels were significantly different between job categories. The results of this study indicate that BSF exposure is the primary contributor to PAH-DNA adduct levels determined from WBCs.