Mutagenic exposure in the rubber manufacturing industry: an industry wide survey

Mutagenic exposure conditions in several rubber manufacturing companies(n = 9) in The Netherlands were studied. Mutagenicity of total suspended partic ulate matter in air (TSPM) and of wipe samples from possible contact surfac es were measured in the Ames mutagenicity assay with Salmonella typhimurium YG1041 in the presence of a metabolic activation system. Large differences in median mutagenicity of TSPM samples were observed between companies (ra nge 49-1056 rev/m(3)) and to a lesser extent between production functions ( range 129-402 rev/m(2)). The production function curing revealed overall th e highest TSPM mutagenicity levels. Forty-one percent of the surface wipe s amples revealed mutagenic activity ranging from 26 to 665 rev/cm(2). Mixing had the largest proportion of positive samples resulting in a median surfa ce mutagenic contamination of 39 rev/cm(2). Surface mutagenic contamination , averaged per department/company combination, showed only a weak correlati on with TSPM mutagenicity (r = 0.28, P = 0.05). Company, production functio n and total soluble matter (e.g. mass collected upon extraction with organi c solvents with different polarity) explained 79 and 81% of the variability in mutagenicity of TSPM and surface contamination levels, respectively. 'C ompany' was identified as the most important exposure determinant for mutag enic activity in TSPM and surface wipe samples, This indicates the importan ce of company specific determinants like production volume and rubber chemi cals used for the encountered mutagenic exposure conditions. Detection of s ubstantial mutagenic activity on possible contact surfaces supports further more the potential importance of the dermal route in the uptake of genotoxi c compounds of workers in the rubber manufacturing industry. (C) 2001 Elsev ier Science B.V. All rights reserved.