Mutagenic and DNA repair activity in traffic policemen: a case-crossover study

Emissions from vehicles are composed of heterogeneous mixtures of hazardous substances; several pollutants such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are amongst the most dangerous substances detected in urban monitoring. A cohort of traffic policemen usually occupationally exposed to PAHs present in the urban environment were examined in order to assess the mutagenicity and DNA capacity repair.

Seventy-two urban traffic policemen working in Catania's metropolitan area were enrolled in the study. Two spot urine samples were collected from each subject during the whole working cycle as follows: sample 1 (S1), pre-shift on day 1; sample 2 (S2) post-shift on day 6. 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) was measured to serve as an indirect exposure indicator. Urinary mutagenic activity was assessed through the plate incorporation pre-incubation technique with S9, using YG1024 Salmonella typhimurium strain over-sensitive to PAH metabolite. Concentrations of urinary 8-oxodG were measured using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

As regards the exposure to PAHs, results highlighted a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between pre-shift on day 1 and post-shift on day 6 levels. Mutagenic activity was detected in 38 (66%) workers on S1 and in 47 (81%) on S2. Also 8-oxodG analysis showed a statistically significant difference between S1 and S2 sampling.

This study demonstrated that occupational exposure to pollutants from traffic emission, assessed via 1-OHP measurements in urine, may lead to DNA repair and mutagenic activity, in line with other studies.