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Dose-response for occupational styrene exposures.

Rappaport SM; Bodell W

Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 1994 Apr; :1-9

00228744

The results of study concerning the dose/response relationship for occupational exposures to styrene were presented in this final performance report. A year long assessment of exposure to styrene (100425) was performed for a cohort of 48 workers in a fiberglass boat manufacturing facility. Assessment involved measuring styrene in air, exhaled air, and blood. Methods were developed for measuring adducts of styrene-7,8-oxide (96093) (SO) with proteins and with DNA in the blood. Estimates of the individual mean exposures to styrene ranged between 0.9 and 235mg/m3 for the 48 subjects, with an overall mean of 84.2mg/m3. There was a high degree of correlation between the estimated mean levels of styrene in the blood and exhaled air, and the exposure to styrene. There was also a significant correlation with sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and styrene exposure, even after controlling for cigarette smoke. The investigation optimized the analytical procedures for SO adducts with hemoglobin, serum albumin, and lymphocyte DNA. Statistically significant correlations were found between the mean exposure to styrene for each subject and the corresponding mean levels of several biomarkers. The authors note that this is the first example of a longitudinal investigation in which exposure to a genotoxic substance was measured along with a variety of biomarkers. The design of the study reduced measurement error in styrene exposure to an extent which allowed the authors to detect elevated levels of SCEs at styrene concentrations well below those which had been previously reported. The authors suggest that in the reinforced plastics industry styrene measurement in air is likely to be more efficient than that of biomarkers to determine the relationship between genotoxic effects and exposure to styrene.

NIOSH-Grant; Grants-other; Biological-monitoring; Blood-analysis; Genotoxic-effects; DNA-damage; Dose-response; Occupational-exposure; DNA-adducts; Boat-manufacturing-industry; Reinforced-plastics; Aromatic-hydrocarbons

Biomedical & Environ Hlth Scis University of California School of Public Health Berkeley, CA 94720

100-42-5; 96-09-3

19940428

Final Grant Report

838959

Grant

1994

Grant-Number-R01-OH-02221

OEP

Other Occupational Concerns; Grants-other;

Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

NC; CA

University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California