Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Urinary Trans, Trans-Muconic Acid is Not a Reliable Biomarker for Low-level Environmental and Occupational Benzene Exposures

  • Jalai, Amir (Department of Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences) ;
  • Ramezani, Zahra (Department of Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences) ;
  • Ebrahim, Karim (Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences)
  • Received : 2016.07.02
  • Accepted : 2016.09.27
  • Published : 2017.06.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Background: Benzene is a known occupational and environmental pollutant. Its urinary metabolite trans, trans-muconic acid (tt-MA) has been introduced by some environmental and occupational health regulatory associations as a biological index for the assessment of benzene exposure; however, recently, doubts have been raised about the specificity of tt-MA for low-level benzene exposures. In the present study, we investigated the association between urinary levels of tt-MA and inhalational exposure to benzene in different exposure groups. Methods: Benzene exposure was assessed by personal air sampling. Collected benzene on charcoal tube was extracted by carbon disulfide and determined by a gas chromatograph (gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector). Urinary tt-MA was extracted by a strong anion-exchange column and determined with high-performance liquid chromatography-UV. Results: Urinary levels of tt-MA in intensive benzene exposure groups (chemical workers and police officers) were significantly higher than other groups (urban and rural residents), but its levels in the last two groups with significant different exposure levels (mean = 0.081 ppm and 0.019 ppm, respectively) showed no significant difference (mean = $388{\mu}g/g$ creatinine and $282{\mu}g/g$, respectively; p < 0.05). Before work shift, urine samples of workers and police officers showed a high amount of tt-MA and its levels in rural residents' samples were not zero. Conclusion: Our results suggest that tt-MA may not be a reliable biomarker for monitoring low-level (below 0.5 ppm) benzene exposures.

Keywords

References

  1. Pezzagno G, Maestri L. The specificity of trans, trans-muconic acid as a biological indicator for low levels of environmental benzene. Indoor Built Environ 1997;6:12-8.
  2. Brugnone F, Perbellini L, Romeo L, Cerpelloni M, Bianchin M, Tonello A. Benzene in blood as a biomarker of low level occupational exposure. Sci Total Environ 1999;235:247-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(99)00197-7
  3. Carrieri M, Bonfiglio E, Scapellato ML, Macca I, Tranfo G, Faranda P, Paci E, Bartolucci GB. Comparison of exposure assessment methods in occupational exposure to benzene in gasoline filling-station attendants. Toxicol Lett 2006;162:146-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2005.09.036
  4. Melikian AA, Qu Q, Shore R, Li G, Li H, Jin X, Cohen B, Chen L, Li Y, Yin S, Mu R, Zhang X, Wang Y. Personal exposure to different levels of benzene and its relationships to the urinarymetabolites S-phenylmercapturic acid and trans, trans-muconic acid. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2002;778:211-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4347(01)00454-6
  5. Cocheo V, Sacco P, Boaretto C, De Saeger E, Ballesta PP, Skov H, Goelen E, Gonzalez N, Caracena AB. Urban benzene and population exposure. Nature 2000;404:141-2. https://doi.org/10.1038/35004651
  6. Wester RC, Maibach HI, Gruenke LD, Craig JC. Benzene levels in ambient air and breath of smokers and nonsmokers in urban and pristine environments. J Toxicol Environ Health A 1986;18:567-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15287398609530894
  7. Dor F, Dab W, Empereur-Bissonnet P, Zmirou D. Validity of biomarkers in environmental health studies: the case of PAHs and benzene. CRC Crit Rev Toxicol 1999;29:129-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408449991349195
  8. Kirkeleit J, Riise T, Bratveit M, Pekari K, Mikkola J, Moen BE. Biological monitoring of benzene exposure during maintenance work in crude oil cargo tanks. Chem Biol Interact 2006;164:60-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbi.2006.08.017
  9. Basilicata P, Miraglia N, Pieri M, Acampora A, Soleo L, Sannolo N. Application of the standard addition approach for the quantification of urinary benzene. J Chromatogr B 2005;818:293-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchromb.2005.01.013
  10. Lovreglio P, Carrieri M, Barbieri A, Sabatini L, Fracasso M, Doria D, Iavicoli S, Drago I, D'errico MN, Imbriani M, Violante FS, Bartolucci GB, Soleo L. Applicability of urinary benzene to biological monitoring of occupational and environmental exposure to very low benzene concentrations. G Ital Med Lav Ergon 2011;33:41-6.
  11. Kim S, Vermeulen R, Waidyanatha S, Johnson BA, Lan Q, Rothman N, Smith MT, Zhang L, Li G, Shen M, Yin S, Rappaport SM. Using urinary biomarkers to elucidate dose-related patterns of human benzene metabolism. Carcinogenesis 2006;27:772-81. https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgi297
  12. Sorensen M, Skov H, Autrup H, Hertel O, Loft S. Urban benzene exposure and oxidative DNA damage: influence of genetic polymorphisms in metabolism genes. Sci Total Environ 2003;309:69-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00054-8
  13. Medeiros A, Bird M, Witz G. Potential biomarkers of benzene exposure. J Toxicol Environ Health A 1997;51:519-39.
  14. Amodio-Cocchieri R, Prete UD, Cirillo T, Agozzino E, Scarano G. Evaluation of benzene exposure in children living in Campania (Italy) by urinary trans, trans-muconic acid assay. J Toxicol Environ Health A 2001;63:79-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/15287390151126388
  15. Suwansaksri J, Wiwanitkit V. Urine trans, trans-muconic acid determination for monitoring of benzene exposure in mechanics. Asian J Trop Med Public Health 2000;31:587-9.
  16. Scherer G, Renner T, Meger M. Analysis and evaluation of trans,trans-muconic acid as a biomarker for benzene exposure. J Chromatogr B Biomed Sci Appl 1998;717:179-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4347(98)00065-6
  17. Rappaport SM, Kim S, Lan Q, Vermeulen R, Waidyanatha S, Zhang L, Li G, Yin S, Hayes RB, Rothman N, Smith MT. Evidence that humans metabolize benzene via two pathways. Environ Health Perspect 2009;117:946-52. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0800510
  18. Inoue O, Seiji K, Nakatsuka H, Watanabe T, Yin SN, Li GL, Cai SX, Jin C, Ikeda M. Urinary t,t-muconic acid as an indicator of exposure to benzene. Br J Ind Med 1989;46:122-7.
  19. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Threshold limit values and biological exposure indices for 2010-2011. Cincinnati (OH): ACGIH; 2011.
  20. Marrubini G, Coccini T, Maestri L, Manzo L. Effect of sorbic acid administration on urinary trans, trans-muconic acid excretion in rats exposed to low levels of benzene. Food Chem Toxicol 2002;40:1799-806. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-6915(02)00185-0
  21. Weaver VM, Buckley T, Groopman JD. Lack of specificity of trans, trans-muconic acid as a benzene biomarker after ingestion of sorbic acid-preserved foods. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2000;9:749-55.
  22. Sanguinetti G, Accorsi A, Barbieri A, Raffi GB, Violante FS. Failure of urinary trans, trans-muconic acid as a biomarker for indoor environmental benzene exposure at PPB levels. J Toxicol Environ Health A 2001;63:599-604. https://doi.org/10.1080/152873901316857770
  23. Lee BL, New AL, Kok PW, Ong HY, Shi CY, Ong CN. Urinary trans, trans-muconic acid determined by liquid chromatography: application in biological monitoring of benzene exposure. Clin Chem 1993;39:1788-92.
  24. Krewski D, Snyder R, Beatty P, Granville G, Meek B, Sonawane B. Assessing the health risks of benzene: a report on the benzene state-of-the-science workshop. J Toxicol Environ Health A 2000;61:307-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/00984100050166325
  25. Hayes RB, Yin S, Rothman N, Dosemeci M, Li G, Travis LT, Smith MT, Linet MS. Benzene and lymphohematopoietic malignancies in China. J Toxicol Environ Health A 2000;61:419-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/00984100050166442
  26. Whysner J. Benzene-induced genotoxicity. J Toxicol Environ Health A 2000;61:347-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/00984100050166343
  27. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC monographs programme on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans. Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2003.
  28. Pezzagno G, Maestri L, Fiorentino ML. Trans, Trans-muconic acid, a biological indicator to low levels of environmental benzene: some aspects of its specificity. Am J Ind Med 1999;35:511-8. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0274(199905)35:5<511::AID-AJIM8>3.0.CO;2-Y
  29. Kivisto H, Pekari K, Peltonen K, Svinhufvud J, Veidebaum T, Sorsa M, Aitio A. Biological monitoring of exposure to benzene in the production of benzene and in a cokery. Sci Total Environ 1997;199:49-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(97)05481-8
  30. Melikian AA, Prahalad AK, Hoffmann D. Urinary trans, trans-muconic acid as an indicator of exposure to benzene in cigarette smokers. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1993;2:47-51.
  31. Verma DK, des Tombe K. Measurement of benzene in the workplace and its evolution process, part I: overview, history, and past methods. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 1999;60:38-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/00028899908984421

Cited by

  1. Rapid analysis of trans,trans-muconic acid in urine using microextraction by packed sorbent vol.9, pp.5, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13530-017-0337-x
  2. Aspectos toxicológicos do benzeno, biomarcadores de exposição e conflitos de interesses vol.42, pp.suppl1, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-6369nota00017
  3. A smart supramolecular device for the detection of t,t-muconic acid in urine vol.42, pp.18, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1039/c8nj02156b
  4. Biological monitoring of low level exposure to benzene in an oil refinery: Effect of modulating factors vol.298, pp.None, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2018.08.001
  5. Exposure to volatile organic compounds and airway inflammation vol.17, pp.None, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0410-1
  6. Environmental Assessment and Evaluation of Oxidative Stress and Genotoxicity Biomarkers Related to Chronic Occupational Exposure to Benzene vol.16, pp.12, 2017, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122240
  7. Development of a simple and rapid method for determination of trans, trans-Muconic Acid in human urine using PDLLME preconcentration and HPLC-UV detection vol.73, pp.10, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-019-00800-2
  8. 우리나라 성인의 체내 PAHs 및 벤젠 대사체 노출수준 및 영향요인 분석 - 국민환경보건 기초조사(2009-2017) - vol.45, pp.5, 2017, https://doi.org/10.5668/jehs.2019.45.5.529
  9. Factors Affecting Urinary tt-Muconic Acid Detection among Benzene Exposed Workers at Gasoline Stations vol.16, pp.21, 2017, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214209
  10. Biological Monitoring of Exposure to Benzene in Port Workers vol.8, pp.None, 2020, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00271
  11. Association between urinary trans,trans-muconic acid and diabetes: a cross-sectional analysis of data from Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 3 (2015-2017) vol.33, pp.1, 2021, https://doi.org/10.35371/aoem.2021.33.e35
  12. Gasoline-station workers in Brazil: Benzene exposure; Genotoxic and immunotoxic effects vol.865, pp.None, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mrgentox.2021.503322
  13. Biomarkers of Low-Level Environmental Exposure to Benzene and Oxidative DNA Damage in Primary School Children in Sardinia, Italy vol.18, pp.9, 2017, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094644