Occupational exposure to formaldehyde and biological monitoring of Research Institute workers

Aim: The aim of this study was to verify the presence of a relationship between formaldehyde exposure in the work environment with biological markers of exposure and of effect. Methods: Exposure to formaldehyde (FA) of 36 workers in different laboratories of a Cancer Research Institute and biomarkers of exposure, such as formaldehyde human serum albumin conjugate (FA-HSA) and biomarkers of effect, such as chromosome aberration (CA), micronuclei (MN) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) were measured in peripheral blood lymphocytes of the same workers. Results: Individual FA levels of exposure ranged from 4.9 μg/m3 to 268.7 μg/m3. Subjects with high FA exposure showed a significant increase of the biomarker of exposure FA-HSA, but biomarkers of effect did not show any significant differences. Conclusions: A significant relationship was observed between occupational exposure to FA and a biological marker of exposure (FA-HSA). The markers of effect used (CA, MN and SCE) failed to indicate the presence of genetic damage.