Section of Toxicology and Biomedical Sciences, Research Centre ENEA Casaccia, Rome, Italy.
Environ Mol Mutagen. 2011 Jul;52(6):440-7. doi: 10.1002/em.20641. Epub 2011 Mar 2.
Workers employed in petroleum refineries are exposed to a wide range of toxic compounds (benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, etc.) with known mutagenic and carcinogenic potential. In this study, we investigated by using the cytokinesis block micronucleus (CBMN) assay on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) whether general occupational exposure in petroleum refineries resulted in early biological effects, which would be indicative of adverse health effects in the long term. In this study, out of more 500 workers enrolled in the study, 79 male subjects (46 nonsmokers and 33 smokers), employed in two different Italian petroleum refineries, and a total of 50 male control subjects (34 nonsmokers and 16 smokers) were selected by using very strict selection criteria. The comparison of chromosome damage in PBL between exposed and control populations pointed out a significant increase of micronuclei in the exposed group, correlated with the length of employment. Results confirm that smoking is the principal confounding factor for the responses. In conclusion, our results are indicative of a potential genotoxic risk related to the complex occupational exposure in petroleum refineries, despite the measures adopted in the plants, and corroborate the need to increase safety measures to avoid exposure to chemical agents.
炼油厂工人接触到广泛的有毒化合物（苯、多环芳烃、重金属等），这些化合物具有已知的致突变和致癌潜力。在这项研究中，我们通过使用人外周血淋巴细胞（PBL）的胞质分裂阻断微核（CBMN）试验，研究了炼油厂的一般职业暴露是否会导致早期的生物学效应，这些效应可能预示着长期的不良健康影响。在这项研究中，在 500 多名参加研究的工人中，选择了 79 名男性（46 名不吸烟者和 33 名吸烟者），他们在两家不同的意大利炼油厂工作，另有 50 名男性对照组（34 名不吸烟者和 16 名吸烟者）。通过非常严格的选择标准选择对照组。暴露组和对照组之间 PBL 染色体损伤的比较指出，暴露组的微核明显增加，与就业时间长短有关。结果证实，吸烟是影响反应的主要混杂因素。总之，尽管工厂采取了措施，但我们的结果表明与炼油厂复杂职业暴露相关的潜在遗传毒性风险，并证实需要增加安全措施以避免接触化学物质。
