Pulmonary dysfunctions, oxidative stress and DNA damage in brick kiln workers

Abstract

Brick kilns in the suburban areas in developing countries pose a big threat to the environment and hence the health of their workers and people residing around them. The present study was planned to assess the lung functions, oxidative stress parameters and DNA damage in brick kiln workers. A total of 31 male subjects working in brick kiln, and 32 age, sex and socioeconomic status matched controls were included in the study. The lung volumes, capacities and flow rates, namely, forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV(1)), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV(1)/FVC, expiratory reserve volume, inspiratory capacity (IC), maximal expiratory flow when 50% of FVC is remaining to be expired, maximum voluntary ventilation, peak expiratory flow rate and vital capacity were significantly decreased in the brick kiln workers. Increased oxidative stress as evidenced by increased malonedialdehyde levels and reduced glutathione content, glutathione S-transferase activity and ferric reducing ability of plasma were observed in the study group when compared with controls. Our results indicate a significant correlation between oxidative stress parameters and pulmonary dysfunction, which may be due to silica-induced oxidative stress and resulting lung damage.

Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMaSTE): emissions of particulate matter from wood- and dung-fueled cooking fires, garbage and crop residue burning, brick kilns, and other sources

“…The magnitude of these values was up to 3 times higher than the EF reported for traditional mud stoves by Venkataraman and Rao (2001) that ranged from 2.8 to 4.8 g kg −1 for wood, biofuel briquettes, and dung that were diluted before sampling. The observed EF PM 2.5 for traditional mud stoves are greater than values compiled by Akagi et al (2011) for EF PM 2.5 from open cooking that averaged 6.73 ± 1.61 g kg −1 but were lower than the particulate carbon emissions reported by Keene et al (2006) for dung burning (22.9 g kg −1 ). In addition to fuel type, variability in EF PM 2.5 in cooking stove emissions has been attributed to the extent of flaming or smoldering combustion, with peak PM emissions occurring during the latter stage (Arora et al, 2014); dilution prior to PM collection (as discussed at the onset of Sect.…”

Evaluation of Genotoxicity Caused by Heavy Metals Emitted from Brick Kiln among Children in Brick Kiln Industry

“…In current findings, the concentration of heavy metals i.e, cadmium, chromium and nickel was found quite high in blood drawn from children. Similar results have also been suggested by Jahan., et al 2016 among male subjects [10].Previously Kaushik., et al[4] reported that exposure to heat and radiation can cause genetic mutations, DNA strand breaks, DNA protein cross-links, radiation pneumonitis, fibrosis and diffuse alveolitis[4]. Similarly, in present study, DNA damage with the formation of comet was evident in blood cells, that might be associated with genotoxicity induced by heavy metals in nucleus.was finished, the buffer was drained from the tank and the tray removed.…”

Evaluation of Dynamic Disulphide/Thiol Homeostasis in Silica Exposed Workers

“…High oxidative stress as determined by increased lipid peroxidation products, such as malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and decreased GSH content, together with pulmonary dysfunctions induced by crystalline silica exposures were shown in brick kiln workers (21). Villarini et al (22) found increased frequency of micronucleus a biomarker of oxidatively damaged DNA in tunnel construction workers exposed to silica as compared to controls (22).…”