New techniques used to uncover air pollutant link to DNA damage

Researchers in the Czech Republic have used new techniques to uncover a link between exposure to certain air pollutants and an increase in DNA damage, it has been reported by Click Green.

The study found that breathing small a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), called benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), caused an increase in the number of certain biomarkers in DNA associated with a higher risk of diseases, including cancer.

DNA from 950 police officers and bus drivers in Prague was tested using biomarkers. The researchers also tested a new technique for identifying chromosomal aberrations called 'fluorescence in-situ hybridisation', or FISH, which is much more sensitive than previous techniques.

The new EU sanctions for B[a]P  is 1 nanogram per metre3 (ng/m3) as an annual average that has to be attained where possible throughout the EU.

A significant relationship between exposure to PAhs, the number of DNA adducts and the number of chromosomal aberrations detected using FISH has been revealed for the first time, marking a significant step in environmental research.