Benzene Exposure (benzene + exposure)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A cohort mortality study of chemical laboratory workers at Department of Energy Nuclear Plants,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 9 2008
Travis Kubale PhD
Abstract Objective This study evaluates the mortality experience of 6,157 chemical laboratory workers employed at United States Department of Energy facilities. Methods All cause, all cancer and cause-specific standardized mortality ratios were calculated. Cox regression analyses were conducted to further evaluate the relation between chemical exposure and mortality risk due to selected cancers. Results The mortality due to all causes combined and all cancers combined were below expectation for the cohort. There were no statistically significant elevations reported among males for any specific cancer or non-cancer outcome. There no statistically significant elevations among females for any specific non-cancer and most specific cancers; however, multiple myeloma deaths were significantly elevated (SMR,=,3.56; 95% CI,=,1.43,7.33; number of observed deaths, n,=,7). Statistically significant elevations were seen among workers employed 20+ years for leukemia using both 2- and 5-year lag periods. Also, a statistically significant positive trend of elevated lung cancer mortality with increasing employment duration was seen using both 5- and 10-year lags. A similar trend was seen for smoking related cancers among men. Conclusion While lymphatic and hematopoietic cancer mortality was below expectation, a significant elevation of multiple myeloma deaths among females and an elevation of leukemia among workers employed 20+ years (possibly due to radiation and benzene exposure) were observed. A NIOSH case,control study is underway to examine more closely the relation between multiple myeloma and a variety of chemical exposures among workers employed at the Oak Ridge K-25 facility. Am. J. Ind. Med. 51:656,667, 2008. Published 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Determination of urinary S -phenylmercapturic acid, a specific metabolite of benzene, by liquid chromatography/single quadrupole mass spectrometry

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 9 2005
Luciano Maestri
A high-performance liquid chromatography/single quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method is described for the determination of urinary S -phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA), a specific metabolite of benzene. Urine samples were spiked with [13C6]S-PMA (used as the internal standard) and acidified; then they were purified by solid-phase extraction (SPE) on C18 cartridges. Analyses were conducted on a reversed-phase column by gradient runs with 1% aqueous acetic acid/methanol mixtures at different proportions as the mobile phase. The detector was used in electrospray negative ion mode (ESI,), the ions m/z 238 for S-PMA and 244 for [13C6]S-PMA being recorded simultaneously. The detection limit (for a signal-to-noise ratio,=,3) was 0.2,,g/L, thus allowing for the measurement of background excretion of S-PMA in the general population. The use of the internal standard allowed us to obtain good precision (CV% values <3%) and a linear calibration curve within the range of interest for monitoring occupational exposure to benzene (up to 500,,g/L). The method was applied to assay the metabolite concentration in a group of 299 workers (68 smokers and 231 non-smokers) occupationally exposed to relatively low levels of benzene (environmental concentration,=,0.4,220,,g/m3, mean 11.4,,g/m3) and 236 non-exposed subjects (134 smokers and 102 non-smokers). The results clearly showed that smoking must be taken into account for the correct interpretation of the results of S-PMA measurements for the assessment of work-related benzene exposure. When only non-smokers were selected, the mean excretion of S-PMA was significantly higher in workers exposed to benzene (1.2,±,0.9,,g/g creatinine) than in the control group (0.7,±,0.6,,g/g creatinine) (p,<,0.001), thus confirming the role of S-PMA as a biomarker of benzene on a group basis, even for relatively low exposure degrees. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Determination of S -phenylmercapturic acid in human urine using an automated sample extraction and fast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method

BIOMEDICAL CHROMATOGRAPHY, Issue 6-7 2006
Yinghe Li
Abstract S -phenylmercapturic acid is widely accepted as a specific biomarker for the evaluation of benzene exposure. Here, we describe a fast, specific and sensitive high-performance liquid achromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method that has been developed and validated for the determination of S- phenylmercapturic acid in human urine. Isotope-labeled S- phenylmercapturic acid- d5 was used as internal standard to improve the method ruggedness. The fully automated solid-phase extraction method on a 96-well Oasis MAX (mix-mode anion exchange) plate was employed to clean up the urine samples before analysis. The rapid LC-MS/MS analysis of extracted samples was achieved on a Genesis C18 column with a run time of only 3 min. Negative electrospray ionization with multiple reaction monitoring (ESI-MRM) mode was used to detect S- phenylmercapturic acid (m/z 238 , 109) and S- phenylmercapturic acid - d5 (m/z 243 , 114). The method fulfils all the standard requirements of method validation. The calibration curve was linear within the concentration range 0.400,200 ng/mL. The method performed accurately and precisely in validation with <7.5% relative error and <6.5% relative standard deviation of quality control samples. The method efficacy was also verified by the analysis of urine samples from 12 smokers and 12 non-smokers. With the fully automated sample cleanup procedure and the fast LC-MS/MS analysis, a sample analysis throughput of 384 samples per day could be achieved. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Dermal benzene and trichloroethylene induce aneuploidy in immature hematopoietic subpopulations in vivo

ENVIRONMENTAL AND MOLECULAR MUTAGENESIS, Issue 3 2001
Cynthia R. Giver
Abstract Accumulation of genetic damage in long-lived cell populations with proliferative capacity is implicated in tumorigenesis. Hematopoietic stem cells (hsc) maintain lifetime hematopoiesis, and recent studies demonstrate that hsc in leukemic patients are cytogenetically aberrant. We postulated that exposure to agents associated with increased leukemia risk would induce genomic changes in cells in the hsc compartment. Aneusomy involving chromosomes 2 and 11 in sorted hsc (Lin,c-kit+Sca-1+) and maturing lymphoid and myeloid cells from mice that received topical doses of benzene (bz) or trichloroethylene (TCE) was quantified using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Six days after bz or TCE exposure, aneuploid cells in the hsc compartment increase four- to eightfold in a dose- and schedule-independent manner. Aneuploid lymphoid and myeloid cells from bz- and TCE-treated mice approximate controls, except after repeated benzene exposures. Aneuploid cells are more frequent in the hsc compartment than in mature hematopoietic subpopulations. Hematotoxicity was also quantified in bz- and TCE-exposed hematopoietic subpopulations using two colony-forming assays: CFU-GM (colony-forming units/granulocyte-macrophage progenitors) and CAFC (cobblestone area,forming cells). Data indicate that bz is transiently cytotoxic (,1 week) to hsc subpopulations, and induces more persistent toxicity (>2 weeks) in maturing, committed progenitor subpopulations. TCE is not hematotoxic at the doses applied. In conclusion, we provide direct evidence for induction of aneuploidy in cells in the hsc compartment by topical exposure to bz and TCE. Disruption of genomic integrity and/or toxicity in hsc subpopulations may be one step in leukemic progression. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 37:185,194, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]