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Genotoxicity in vinyl chloride‐exposed workers and its implication for occupational exposure limit
Author(s) -
Wang Wei,
Qiu YuLan,
Jiao Jie,
Liu Jing,
Ji Fang,
Miao WenBin,
Zhu Yiliang,
Xia ZhaoLin
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.20990
Subject(s) - genotoxicity , micronucleus test , medicine , toxicology , occupational exposure limit , vinyl chloride , chromosome aberration , occupational exposure , micronucleus , dna damage , carcinogen , occupational cancer , cumulative dose , toxicity , environmental health , genetics , chemistry , biology , chromosome , dna , organic chemistry , gene , copolymer , polymer
Background Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is a colorless gas under room temperature and has been mostly used to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC) since the 1970s. It is classified by the International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) as a known human carcinogen (Group 1). In this study, genetic damage in VCM workers was evaluated in relation to their occupational cumulative exposure to VCM. Methods Cytokinesis‐block micronucleus assay was conducted in 229 VCM workers and 138 controls to detect chromosome damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes. The cumulative exposure dose (CED) of VCM was calculated based on the job type and duration of each worker and the workplace VCM concentration. Dose–response relationships between VCM CED and micronucleus frequency or chromosomal damage were evaluated, and benchmark doses (BMDs) estimated. Results Dose–response relationships between VCM CED and chromosomal damage were obtained. The 95% lower confidence bound of BMD of VCM CED was 2.86 mg/m 3 ‐year for both genders combined, leading to an estimated exposure limit of 0.072 mg/m 3 assuming a work life of 40 years. Conclusions VCM exposure may induce chromosomal damage at occupational exposure levels below the Chinese national occupational health standard. Further research is needed to better understand micronuclei as biomarker of VCM genotoxicity. Better dose–response assessment and BMD estimation are desirable in order to improve the quantification of occupational exposure limits for VCM with respect to non‐cancer risk. Am. J. Ind. Med. 54:800–810, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.