Abstract
Genotoxic activity in the air at the Cour-au-Bois landfill in Belgium was measured using the Tradescantia micronucleus assay. Using standard techniques and multiparameter flow cytometry, immunological parameters were assessed in landfill workers in comparison with controls and with more heavily exposed workers. Genotoxic activity amounted to a mean of 7.38% micronuclei (MCN) on the landfill, 6.35% MCN in the immediate surroundings (less than 100 m), 5.50% MCN at greater distance, 7.39% at a main street in a nearby town, and 10.36% MCN a few meters from a nearby busy highway. Compared to controls, landfill workers showed slight but significant (p<0.05) increases in leukocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, CD8+ lymphocytes and complement C3, but values for CD3+CD56+ lymphocytes (96±76 vs 86±69 for controls) and for the ratio of CD4+ over CD8+ lymphocytes were similar to those in controls. More heavily exposed workers (N=16) had, compared to controls (N=67), a mean of 199±91 CD3+CD56+ lymphocytes/µL versus 86±69 (p<0.0001); 5 of these 16 workers (31%) as against 6 out of 64 controls (9%) (p<0.03) had a CD4/CD8 ratio below unity. Smoking and occupational exposure had a different spectrum of immunological effects. The genotoxic air pollution at the Cour-au-Bois landfill falls far below that caused by old-style landfills. More important occupational exposure appears to be associated, at least in some persons, with immunological anomalies not seen in Cour-au-Bois landfill workers. This combined approach could be used for the evaluation of the effects of agricultural pollution.
Full article can be found in: Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
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