Genotoxicity and chronic health effects of automobile exhaust: a study on the traffic policemen in the city of Lanzhou.

A study on the health and genotoxic effects of occupational exposure to automobile exhaust was carried out among traffic policemen in Lanzhou (China) in 1996. A total of 78 traffic policemen working in the field was the exposed group, and 57 household register policemen working in the office was the control group. The health effects were evaluated by health questionnaires. Significant differences were observed between the exposed and control groups with respect to the morbidity of rhinitis, pharyngitis, trachoma, syndrome of neurasthenia and joint pain, apart from disorders in the digestive system. The percentage of rhinitis and pharyngitis obtained in the two groups was significantly higher among the smokers than among the nonsmokers. The frequencies of micronuclei (MN) and sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) were measured in peripheral blood lymphocytes from the two groups of volunteers. Compared with the control group, statistically significant increases of MN and SCE were found for the exposed group. The increase in the induction of MN and SCE among the traffic policemen and household register policemen is enhanced further by smoking.