Research Reports

Dr. Qingshan Qu and colleagues at the New York University School of Medicine recruited 181 healthy workers in several factories in the Tianjin region of China. These subjects formed part of a cohort of thousands identified by the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the China Academy of Preventive Medicine for a study to evaluate tumor incidence in benzene exposed workers (NCI/China study).

Dr. Albertini and colleges organized a group of researchers from the United States, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to determine whether biomarkers in the blood and urine of workers exposed to butadiene in occupational settings correlated with their personal exposure. Samples were collected from male workers employed either in a plant that used butadiene and styrene to produce rubber polymer in Prague. They also collected blood and urine from male administrative workers at the plant who had no direct occupational exposure to butadiene and served as control subjects.

Drs Turteltaub and Mani at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory investigated benzene metabolism in rodents over a large dose range that encompassed concentrations close to those of human ambient exposure. Understanding benzene metabolism at low exposure levels is critical to benzene assessment to determine the shape of the dose-response curve at low concentrations.The investigators administered radioactive benzene to mice and rats and subsequently analyzed bone marrow, liver, urine, and plasma from these animals.

Dr. Nadziejko and her colleagues at the New York University School of Medicine evaluated the effects of exposing healthy rats to concentrated ambient particles (CAPs) and changes in blood coagulation parameters. The investigators measured platelet number, blood cells counts, and levels of fibrinogen, thrombin-antithrombin complex, tissue plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator inhibitor, and factor VII of rats that were exposed to concentrated New York City particles and filtered air for 6 hours. Blood samples were obtained before and after exposure using an indwelling catheter.