Exposure to traffic fumes can damage human DNA, potentially raising the risk of cancer, research suggests. Scientists at Taiwan's National Defence Medical Centre found raised levels of a key chemical, 8-OHdG, in the motorway toll booth operators. Elevated 8-OHdG levels are a sign of DNA damage caused by particles called oxygen free radicals formed in high numbers by pollution. The study was published in the issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The research team carried out tests on 47 female motorway toll booth operators working on a particularly busy stretch of road south of Taipei.
The results were compared with tests carried out on female office workers not exposed to traffic fumes in the same way.
The researchers analysed blood samples to measure levels of nitric oxide another sign of possible tissue damage caused by exposure to traffic fumes.
The operators worked in eight-hour shifts for four consecutive days before taking a day off.
During their shifts, they took breaks of between 30 and 45 minutes every couple of hours. They regularly changed lane booths, working a rotation system.
Levels of nitric oxide were on average 30 percent higher. Levels of 1-OHPG were strongly linked to the levels of 8-OHdG.
The higher the 1-OHPG, the higher was the 8-OHdG.
The researchers say their work suggests that traffic fumes boost oxygen free radical activity and therefore cause DNA damage.
Traffic fumes are a complex mix of by-products of the combustion process and include hundreds of pollutants.
Research suggest that particulates tiny airborne particles are particularly damaging to health, as they can penetrate deep into the tissues of the lung and even pass directly into the blood.
Dr Jonathan Grigg, from the Leicester University Children's Asthma Centre, has shown that children living near busy roads suffer more coughing attacks.
He said: "It may be that long-term exposure to traffic fumes may be a cause of lung cancer and the like."
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