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In this study, the urinary concentrations of selected metals in workers from an electric steel foundry in Tunisia were assessed and compared with existing biological limit values and general population reference values. Moreover, the association between oxidative DNA damage, measured as urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and co-exposure to metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was evaluated. Urinary levels of 12 metals were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in end-shift spot samples from 89 workers. The urinary levels of phenanthrene (U-PHE), as marker of exposure to PAHs, and 8-oxodG were also available. Median levels ranged from 0.4 µg/L (cobalt, Co, and thallium, Tl) to 895 µg/L (zinc, Zn). Only 1% of samples was above the biological limit values for Co, and up to 13.5% of samples were above limit values for Cd. From 3.4% (Co) to 72% (lead, Pb) of samples were above the reference values for the general population. Multiple linear regression models, showed that manganese (Mn), Zn, arsenic (As), barium (Ba), Tl, and Pb were significant predictors of 8-oxodG (0.012 ≤ p ≤ 0.048); U-PHE was also a significant predictor (0.003 ≤ p ≤ 0.059). The variance explained by models was low (0.11 ≤ R 2 ≤ 0.17, p < 0.005), showing that metals and PAHs were minor contributors to 8-oxodG. Overall, the comparison with biological limit values showed that the study subjects were occupationally exposed to metals, with levels exceeding biological limit values only for Cd.

In this study, urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), as biomarker of oxidative DNA damage, was evaluated in Tunisian electric steel foundry workers and was associated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure. Ninety-three healthy male workers were enrolled in the study; 8-oxodG was assessed by liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Exposure to PAHs was evaluated by measuring 16 urinary PAHs (U-PAHs) and 8 monohydroxylated metabolites (OHPAHs). The median 8-oxodG level for all subjects was 3.20 µg l-1 (1.85 µg g-1 creatinine). No correlation between 8-oxodG and 1-hydroxypyrene or any other OHPAH was found. Significant linear correlations between 8-oxodG and some U-PAHs were found, particularly urinary acenaphthylene (r = 0.249), phenanthrene (r = 0.327), anthracene (r = 0.357), fluoranthene (r = 0.248), and pyrene (r = 0.244). Multiple regression analyses confirmed that urinary phenanthrene, anthracene, and naphthalene (the latter with a non-linear relationship) were predictors of 8-oxodG; job title, but not smoking, was a determinant of 8-oxodG; the variance explained by these models was up to 20%. The oxidative DNA damage assessed by urinary 8-oxodG was moderate and in the range of values reported in other occupational fields or in the general population. The results of this study indicate that the investigated biomarkers of PAH exposure were only minor contributors to urinary 8-oxodG., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.)