Genotoxic risk assessment of pathology and anatomy laboratory workers exposed to formaldehyde by use of personal air sampling and analysis of DNA damage in peripheral lymphocytes

Genotoxicity Biomarkers: Application in Histopathology Laboratories

“…Chromosome damage and effects upon lymphocytes arise because FA escapes from sites of direct contact, such as the mouth, originating nuclear alterations in the lymphocytes of those exposed (He & Jin, 1998;IARC, 2006;Orsière et al 2006;Ye et al, 2005). Our results thus corroborate previous reports (Ye et al, 2005) that lymphocytes can be damaged by long term FA exposure.…”

“…In this study the results suggest that workers in histopathology laboratories are exposed to FA levels that exceed recommended exposure limits. Macroscopic specimens' exam, in particular, is the task that involves higher exposure, because it requires a greater proximity to anatomical species impregnated with FA, as supported by the studies of Goyer et al (2004) and Orsière et al (2006).…”

“…Cytogenetically, ageing is associated with a number of gross cellular changes, including altered size and morphology, genomic instability and changes in expression and proliferation (Bolognesi et al, 1999;Zietkiewicz et al, 2009). It has been shown that a higher MN frequency is directly associated with decreased efficiency of DNA repair and increased genome instability (Kirsch-Volders et al, 2006;Orsière et al, 2006). The data has shown a significant increase of MN in lymphocytes in the exposed group.…”

Occupational Exposure to Formaldehyde and Genetic Damage in the Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes of Plywood Workers

“…On the other hand, Ying et al 14) found that the frequencies of lymphocyte micronuclei in students did not significantly increase after exposure to 0.508 mg/m 3 FA over an 8-week period of anatomy classes. Moreover, debates about the correlation between chromosome damage and FA exposure levels are also found in the literature 15,16) . Contradictory results were also reported for DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs), another important genetic damage that has been extensively evaluated in FA-exposed rodents and mammalian cells in vitro 17−20) .…”

Wood production, wood technology, and biotechnological impacts

“…In Japan, the class F** limit of formaldehyde emission of panel boards in interior use is ≤1.5 mg/l as detected by the desiccator method which in the perforator test corresponds to about 8-9 mg/100 g absolutely dry particle board and thus is slightly above the limit of E1 . Although there are still debates on the effective levels of formaldehyde emissions (Liteplo & Meek 2003, Hauptmann et al 2003, Arts et al 2006, Orsière et al 2006, Japan tightened by legislation (Japanese standards JIS A 5908 2003 and JIS A 5905 2003) formaldehyde emissions from panel boards to nearly the zero level (class F***: limit of formaldehyde emission of panel boards in interior use ≤0.5 mg/l as detected by the desiccator method which in the perforator test corresponds to about 4 mg/100 g absolutely dry particle board; class F****: limit of formaldehyde emission of panel boards in interior use ≤0.3 mg/l as detected by the desiccator method which in the perforator test corresponds to about 2 mg/100 g absolutely dry particle board; , Risholm-Sundman et al 2007). Modern production strategies target therefore at fabrication of formaldehyde emission-free boards ; see also Chapters 16 and 18 of this book).…”