P-32 POSTLABELING ANALYSIS OF DNA-ADDUCTS IN WHITE BLOOD-CELLS OF HUMANS EXPOSED TO RESIDENTIAL WOOD COMBUSTION PARTICULATE MATTER

Residential wood combustion (RWC) in open fireplaces poses a possible health risk because of the emission into the indoor air of mutagenic a nd carcinogenic compounds. In the present report it was investigated w hether this emission leads to enhanced levels of DNA adducts in white blood cells (WBC) of exposed subjects. Under conditions that most like ly reflect the Dutch pattern of use of open fireplaces, RWC increased both indoor air mutagenicity and levels of benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) and pyrene. The indirect mutagenicity showed a stronger increase than the direct mutagenicity. The increase in indirect mutagenicity was not dir ectly correlated with the increase in the levels of B(a)P and pyrene. P-32-postlabelling analysis of DNA adducts following nuclease Pl enric hment or butanol extraction revealed low adduct levels. No combustion- related increase in the amount of adducts was observed. Possible expla nations for the lack of correlation between air monitoring data and WB C DNA adduct levels are discussed. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.