[Genotoxic damage in subjects exposed to automobile exhaust: preliminary results]

The associations between selected biomarkers of biologically effective dose (32P-post-labelling-DNA adducts), early biological effects (Micronuclei, MN) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) and individual measurements of exposure to benzo(a)pyrene (a surrogate index of exposure to polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs) are investigated in a study being conducted among traffic police workers and referent subjects in the City of Genova, Italy. Preliminary findings show B(a)P mean values of 1.33 ng/m3, SD = 1.35 ng/m3 and 0.06, SD = 0.17 in traffic police workers and referent subjects, respectively. Micronuclei mean levels in peripheral blood lymphocytes of 26 traffic police workers and 25 referents were 3.30, DS = 1.24 e 3.90, DS = 1.50 (per 1,000 binucleated cells). Eleven subjects (61%) out of 18 had detectable levels of DNA adducts (32P-post-labelling technique, range 1.8-9.0 Relative Adduct Level (RAL) per 10(9) nucleotides).