Biomarkers of Low-Level Environmental Exposure to Benzene and Oxidative DNA Damage in Primary School Children in Sardinia, Italy

Ilaria Pilia, Marcello Campagna, Gabriele Marcias, Daniele Fabbri, Federico Meloni, Giovanna Spatari, Danilo Cottica, Claudio Cocheo, Elena Grignani, Fabio De-Giorgio, Pierluigi Cocco and Ernesto d’Aloja
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Ilaria Pilia: Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 092109 Cagliari, Italy
Marcello Campagna: Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 092109 Cagliari, Italy
Gabriele Marcias: Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 092109 Cagliari, Italy
Daniele Fabbri: Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 092109 Cagliari, Italy
Federico Meloni: Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 092109 Cagliari, Italy
Giovanna Spatari: Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morpho-Functional Imaging, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy
Danilo Cottica: Environmental Research Centre, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Claudio Cocheo: Environmental Research Centre, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Elena Grignani: Environmental Research Centre, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Fabio De-Giorgio: Department of Health Care Surveillance and Bioethics, Section of Legal Medicine, Università Cattolica del S. Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
Pierluigi Cocco: Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 092109 Cagliari, Italy
Ernesto d’Aloja: Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, 092109 Cagliari, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Background: The main anthropic sources of exposure to airborne benzene include vehicular traffic, cigarette smoke, and industrial emissions. Methods: To detect early genotoxic effects of environmental exposure to benzene, we monitored environmental, personal, and indoor airborne benzene in children living in an urban area and an area near a petrochemical plant. We also used urinary benzene and S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) as biomarkers of benzene exposure and urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) as a biomarker of early genotoxic effects. Results: Although always below the European Union limit of 5 ?g/m 3 , airborne benzene levels were more elevated in the indoor, outdoor, and personal samples from the industrial surroundings compared to the urban area ( p = 0.026, p = 0.005, and p = 0.001, respectively). Children living in the surroundings of the petrochemical plant had urinary benzene values significantly higher than those from the urban area in both the morning and evening samples ( p = 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). Results of multiple regression modelling showed that age was a significant predictor of 8-OHdG excretion, independent of the sampling hour. Moreover, at the low exposure level experienced by the children participating in this study, neither personal or indoor airborne benzene level, nor personal monitoring data, affected 8-OHdG excretion. Conclusions: Our results suggest the importance of biological monitoring of low-level environmental exposure and its relation to risk of genotoxic effects among children.

Keywords: benzene; environmental exposure; children; biological monitoring; genotoxicity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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