Mermer İşçilerinde Genotoksik Etki Mekanizmalarının ve Oksidatif Stres ile İlişkili Değişikliklerin Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Workers working in marble processing plants are exposed to high levels of respirable marble dust (<10 μm) in processes such as cutting, polishing, shaping. Marble dust is mainly composed of calcium carbonate and contains crystalline silica in different proportions. It is thought that both particulate dust and crystalline silica may be responsible for the adverse health effects of marble dust. There are a limited number of studies evaluating the genotoxicity and oxidative stress parameters of workers occupationally exposed to marble dust. In this study, among the workers working in the marble processing plants in Iscehisar (Afyonkarahisar) region; it is aimed to clarify how marble dust affects oxidative stress, genotoxicity and immunotoxicity mechanisms. Oxidative stress and immune system parameters were determined spectrophotometrically using commercial kits. Genotoxicity was evaluated by single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) and micronucleus methods in lymphocytes and buccal epithelial cells, respectively. Superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase enzyme activities and glutathione and clara cell secretory protein levels were found to be statistically significantly lower in workers (n = 48) compared to the control group (n = 41), while the levels of malondialdehyde, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1beta were found to be statistically significantly higher. DNA damage in workers was statistically significantly higher than in the control group, and a strong correlation was found between the increase in DNA damage and the exposure time. In addition, the frequency of micronucleus in the buccal epithelium of the workers was found to be statistically significantly higher than the controls. The results show that there is a possibility of immunotoxic and genotoxic risks for workers working in the marble industry.