engleski

Impact of air pollution on biomarkers of exposure and effect: human biomonitoring in city of Zagreb

Exposure to high levels of air pollution can cause a variety of adverse health outcomes, and is associated with millions of premature deaths annually. The main sources of air pollution in urban areas are traffic, domestic heating and emissions from manufacturing plants. The air in urban areas is a very complex and variable mixture of numerous contaminants, containing many mutagenic pollutants whose mechanism of action is not fully known. Additionally, the emission of compounds such as BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and isomeric xylenes) is increasing, mainly due to intensive industrialization and urbanization. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between air pollutants and biomarkers of exposure and early biological effects, using the alkaline comet and micronucleus assays on peripheral blood cells. The research was conducted during the cold season of 2021, as it was found that the concentration of air pollutants is higher in this period due to the heating season. Our research included 60 healthy volunteers aged 18–55 with a BMI<30 kg/m2 living in Zagreb (Croatia). All measured outdoor air pollution parameters were consistent with previously reported values [1] and were bellow regulatory limit, except for PM10 particles and B[a]P bound to PM10. We did not detect any significant effect of air pollution on tested parameters, but a multiple regression model was developed and yielded several PAHs, PM10, PM2.5 and benzene as the best predictors of micronuclei frequency and % tail DNA. Future research will include the same experimental design and subjects will be recruited from other Croatian cities to obtain a more representative picture of air pollution, as we expect air pollutants to vary in different regions of the country.

air pollution, genotoxicity, human biomonitoring

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