Assessment of human biomonitoring and DNA microarray analysis in the vicinity population on an industrial complex

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess current exposure of the population living in the Gwangyang industrial complex and other areas to heavy metals and, VOCs and to identify individual factors associated with urinary and blood levels of these chemicals. The study population was made up of 810 participants ranging in age from 7 to 87 years old at Gwangyang bay in the South Korea. The selected biomarkers represent the main agents to which a population like that of Korean is exposed every day, including 4 heavy metals in blood or urine (Pb in blood and As, Cd, Hg in urine), and VOCs in blood descriptive data analysis leads to mean concentrations of heavy metals, As, Cd, Hg and Pb of 7.34 mu g/g cr, 1.04 g/g cr, 1.33 mu g/g cr and 2.53 mu g/dL, respectively. The mean concentration of benzene, ethylbenzene, tetrachloroehylene, toluene, m-/p-xylene and o-xylene in blood were 0.00 mu g/L, 0.00 mu g/L, 0.00 mu g/L, 0.03 mu g/L,0.00 mu g/L and 0.00 mu g/L, respectively. The DNA microarray analysis using blood of 16 participants, control group (n=6) and sample group (n=10), showed that the two groups might belong to a different group through hierarchical clustering the present study provides reference values for selected pollutants for the general population in industrial complexes, which can be used for comparison purposes in further studies, since they are mostly within the reference ranges reported by other biomonitoring studies therefore, it would be possible to devise standards for identifying the environmental pollution and beforehand forecast. In addition, it will be the one of the scientific method to help reduce anxiety of residents lived in the polluted areas.