O-6-ALKYLGUANINE DNA ALKYLTRANSFERASE ACTIVITY IN STUDENT EMBALMERS

O-6-Alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) activity was assessed in p eripheral blood lymphocytes among 23 mortuary science students before and after 9 weeks in a laboratory course in techniques of embalming. F ormaldehyde exposure was established by environmental monitoring. The average air concentration of formaldehyde during embalming was about 1 .5 ppm. At the pre-exposure sampling, baseline DNA repair capacity ten ded to be reduced in subjects who reported a prior history of embalmin g (p = 0.08). From pre- to post-exposure, 17 subjects decreased in DNA repair capacity, while only 6 increased (p < 0.05). Analysis of varia nce, including adjustment for age, sex, and smoking status, confirmed these findings. Among the eight subjects who had no embalming experien ce during the 90 days before study, seven had decreased and one had in creased AGT activity during the period of study (p < 0.05). For those with prior embalming experience, 10 subjects decreased in AGT activity , while 5 increased (p < 0.05). Although the major chemical exposure i n embalming practice was to formaldehyde, no clear link was establishe d between amount of formaldehyde exposure and AGT activity. (C) 1997 W iley-Liss, Inc.