Objective
The aim of the project is to evaluate the risk of cancer for coke-oven workers in the steel industry, and in particular:
a)to determine which of the various methods regarded as valid provides the most accurate measurement of the biologically active dose absorbed;
b)to compare and assess the ability of each of the suggested methods to detect the nature and extent of exposure to genotoxic substances;
c)to build up a cohort of subjects so that the forecasting value of some of the tests suggested and used can be assessed by comparison with any subsequent clinical findings.
The work will be carried out in the following order.
1)Environmental monitoring for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), both as a whole and individually (the ten most significant), aromatic amines and benzene.
2)During periodic visits tests will be carried out on urine and blood samples taken from every exposed individual and every control (about 150 in all); the tests will be repeated at least twice during the period of the research.
3)Finally, the necessary statistical evaluations will be carried out and the cohort will be constructed which is to be followed over the course of time.
METHODS AND MEANS BY WHICH THE AIMS ARE TO BE ACHIEVED
1)The environmental monitoring will enable the working areas containing various levels of the air-borne pollutants in question to be defined, and the workers can be divided into exposure groups.
2)During the periodic visits to the plant urine will be collected for measurement of individual hydroxylated PAH and for assessment of mutagenicity.
At the same time blood samples will be taken for measurement of the biological effective dose (protein binding, DNA binding) and of early biological effects (chromosomal aberrations, exchange between sister chromatids, micronuclei, DNA repair). On the basis of subsequent assessments a decision will have to be made about whether biological samples are to be given preliminary treatment on site or whether they should be sent under the best possible conditions to the participating laboratories.
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
20122 Milano
Italy