Genotoxic hazards in the rubber industry.

Area of Science:

• Occupational toxicology
• Industrial hygiene
• Genotoxicology

Background:

• The toxicology of chemicals in the rubber industry is not well-understood.
• Biological monitoring can identify workers exposed to potentially genotoxic substances.

Purpose of the Study:

• To use biological monitoring to identify job categories with potential exposure to genotoxic chemicals in the rubber industry.
• To assess mutagenic activity and chromosomal aberrations in rubber industry workers.

Main Methods:

• Urine samples analyzed for mutagenic activity using the bacterial fluctuation test.
• Peripheral blood samples analyzed for sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) and structural chromosome aberrations.
• Comparison of exposed workers with non-exposed referents, considering smoking status.

Main Results:

• Highest mutagenic activities detected in weighing and mixing departments; some high values in vulcanizers.
• Smoking significantly increased SCEs and chromosome aberrations.
• Mixers who smoked had the highest SCE frequencies; nonsmoking cleaners also showed elevated SCEs compared to referents.
• Nonsmoking weighers showed a significant increase in chromosome aberrations.

Conclusions:

• Occupational hygiene in rubber weighing and mixing departments needs improvement.
• Exposure to potentially hazardous genotoxic chemicals should be decreased in these areas.