ASSESSMENT OF CANCER HAZARD FROM ENVIRONMENTAL-POLLUTION IN SILESIA

New concepts of cancer risk estimation have been developed during the past decade. Short-term bioassays dealing with mutagenicity and carcin ogenicity of environmental samples are being replaced by more relevant molecular epidemiology studies. The general idea of using a battery o f bioassays remains unchanged while the origin of tested samples is di fferent. Instead of testing samples collected from the environment, bo dy fluids or human cells from exposed populations are under investigat ion. This paper reviews the collaborative study on cancer risk assessm ent in highly polluted industrial region of Silesia in which both appr oaches had been employed during the 1985-1995 period. A potent carcino genic activity of airborne pollutants was indicated in a battery of in vitro and in vivo short-term assays. These studies were followed by t he molecular epidemiology study performed on human populations inhabit ing the region of Silesia. An elevated damage of genetic material on t he chromosome and/or DNA levels was observed in the Silesian populatio ns as compared with proper rural controls.