title: Association between occupational exposure to benzene and chromosomal alterations in lymphocytes of Brazilian petrochemical workers removed from exposure.
abstract: We aimed to investigate the association between chronic exposure to benzene and genotoxicity in the lymphocytes of workers removed from exposure. The study included 20 workers with hematological disorders who had previously worked in the petrochemical industry of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; 16 workers without occupational exposure to benzene served as the control group. Chromosomal analysis was performed on lymphocytes from peripheral blood, to assess chromosomal breaks and gaps and to identify aneuploidy. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the mean values between two groups, and Student's t test for comparison of two independent means. The frequency of gaps was statistically higher in and the exposed group than in the controls (2.13 ± 2.86 vs. 0.97 ± 1.27, p = 0.001). The frequency of chromosomal breaks was significantly higher among cases (0.21 ± 0.58) than among controls (0.12 ± 0.4) (p = 0.0002). An association was observed between chromosomal gaps and breaks and occupational exposure to benzene. Our study showed that even when removed from exposure for several years, workers still demonstrated genotoxic damage. Studies are still needed to clarify the long-term genotoxic potential of benzene after removal from exposure.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology in Health and Investigative Medicine, Gonçalo Moniz Research Center, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), 121 Waldemar Falcão Street, 40296710, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. rozana26oliveira@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Rozana Oliveira
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.
authors.forename: Neli
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: de Almeida Melo
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marco Antônio Vasconcelos
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rêgo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001554:Benzene / Q000633:toxicity*; D001938:Brazil; D002617:Chemical Industry; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000139:chemically induced*; D004249:DNA Damage; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D001554:Benzene
keywords: Aneuploidy; Benzene; Chromosomal aberrations; Occupational exposure