Evaluation of Benzene Exposure and Early Biomarkers of Kidney Damage in Children Exposed to Solvents Due to Precarious Work in Ticul, Yucatán, México

Abstract

Background: The child labor situation has been associated with precarious job conditions and poor health conditions because children are often exposed to unsafe work environments, stressful psycho-social work conditions, scarce or no access to protective services, and heavy work burdens. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate markers of exposure to benzene through the exposure biomarker trans, trans-muconic acid (tt-MA), and biomarkers of early renal damage in children who work in sites that are under precarious job conditions. Method: Samples of urine were obtained from children (aged 6–12 years old) who resided in Ticul, Yucatan, Mexico. Exposure to benzene was assessed through trans, trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA). Evaluated renal damage biomarkers were: Cystatin-C (Cys-C), Osteopontin (OPN), α1-Microglobulin (α1-MG) and Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL). Findings: Children who live where the workplace is inside the dwelling presented higher mean levels of tt-MA (0.59 mg/g creatinine) compared with those who live away from the workshops (0.19 mg/g creatinine). Likewise, mean levels of NGAL (4.7, 5.2 ng/ml), albuminuria (10, 10 ng/ml), Cys-C (11.8, 7.5 ng/ml), OPN (224.4, 226.5 ng/ml) and α1-MG (96.6, 73.6 ng/ml) were found in children where the workplace was inside the dwelling and outside, respectively. Conclusion: Our data indicate that the children who work under precarious job conditions are exposed to benzene, and they exhibit protein levels that suggest renal damage in a population in precarious working conditions. Therefore, the child population should be considered as the most vulnerable and susceptible to suffer adverse health effects.

Analysis of urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in precarious workers of highly exposed occupational scenarios in Mexico

“…In a precarious work, the labor risks represent a major disadvantage due to not providing adequate training to workers on the various processes, this generates that the perception of risk by workers is zero and therefore do not follow specific protective measurements for the use of tools, control and exposure to substances (Schulte et al 2020 ). Additionally, in these works, it is common the lack of provision of adequate protective personal equipment to workers, and in a specific manner to workers whose primary activities may generate exposure to substances that endanger their health (Pérez-Herrera et al 2019 , Quinlan et al 2001 ).…”

“…The documented scenarios in this article are of a very high-risk to the health of precarious workers; in addition to the exposure to mixtures of PAHs, there are accumulated risks, for example, chemical risks where it is common to find exposure to other mixtures of pollutants such as metals, persistent organic compounds, and aflatoxins (Díaz de León-Martínez et al 2019 , Diaz de Leon-Martinez et al 2020b , Flores-Ramirez et al 2016 ); physical risks, for example, excessive material loads, mainly affecting the back and causing musculoskeletal disorders; biological risks, now with COVID-19 (Alahmad et al 2020 , Diaz de Leon-Martinez et al 2020a ), in addition to the high incidence of comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, and psychosocial stress, among others (Cho 2020 , Karasek et al 2010 , Pérez-Herrera et al 2019 ), this in a context without social security and precarious socioeconomic conditions. It is imperative to develop strategies to protect the health of the precarious workers; these scenarios can no longer be ignored by labor and public health authorities.…”

“…It is evident that workers are a vulnerable group, requiring special attention to mitigation measurements; however, some groups of workers are especially vulnerable; those so-called precarious works, characterized by abuse of their labor rights (low salaries, without access to social security, health services, lack of training, null protection, among many other factors) (Julià et al 2017 , Kachi et al 2014 , Medina-Gómez and López-Arellano 2019 ) and which also present health risks due to high exposure to pollutants. The above, in scenarios with high degrees of marginalization, where they generally perform their work activities within the household, exposing the worker and in consequence their families (Flores-Ramirez et al 2018 , Pérez-Herrera et al 2019 ). Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the mixtures of hydroxylated PAHs in precarious workers of four activities with high toxicity in Mexico.…”

El Peridomicilio Y Las Zoonosis en Yucatán. Hacia La Búsqueda De Una Salud

“…El segundo grupo de problemas de salud son aquellos ligados a la presencia de contaminantes ambientales en el entorno domiciliar. Se ha documentado la presencia de plaguicidas, metales, hidrocarburos y otras sustancias tóxicas en animales sinantrópicos, agua y en seres humanos, ligando su exposición a los quehaceres cotidianos, los cuales muchas veces se dan en el contexto de las actividades productivas como talleres, manufacturas, artesanías, o por manejo inadecuado de plaguicidas o agroquímicos desarrollados en el huerto familiar o el peridomicilio; representando un importante riesgo para la salud pública y para la sostenibilidad ambiental (Ramírez-Hernández et al, 2018;Pérez-Herrera et al, 2019;Escamilla-López, Ruiz-Piña and Rendón-von Osten, 2020;Díaz de León-Martínez et al, 2021;Perera-Rios et al, 2021).…”

Çocuk İşçi̇leri̇n Sağlik Sorunlarinin Omaha Si̇stemi̇ İle Beli̇rlenmesi̇: İstanbul'un Bi̇r Kenar Mahallesi̇nden Örnek

“…Child labour gravely impacts physical health (Batomen Kuimi, Oppong-Nkrumah, Kaufman, Nazif-Munoz, & Nandi, 2018;Pérez-Herrera et al, 2019;Scott & Pocock, 2021), mental health (Meyer, Yu, Rieders, & Stark, 2020;Ornek, 2017;Ornek & Esin, 2018;Scott & Pocock, 2021;Sturrock & Hodes, 2016), childhood maltreatment such as abuse and neglect (Dhakal et al, 2019;Jonsson et al, 2021;Pandey et al, 2020;Thi, Zimmerman, Pocock, Chan, & Ranganathan, 2022), and nutritional status (Batomen Kuimi et al, 2018). According to recent studies, levels of depression and anxiety among children are already high, and they are increasing (Meyer et al, 2020;Sturrock & Hodes, 2016;Wickham, Whitehead, Taylor-Robinson, & Barr, 2017).…”