Genotoxic stress of particulate matter in the electric furnace of an iron casting industry on human lung epithelial cells; an in vitro study

Abstract

In foundries, various ores are used. Genotoxic assessment of ore-particles was the important aim of this study. In this regard, Ferrochromium, Ferrosilicon, Ferromanganese, and graphite were collected from an iron-casting industry. Also, the analysis has been performed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The effective particle doses for A549-cells and genetic damages were evaluated using MTT and comet assay, respectively. The analysis indicated that, the samples contain Cr, Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Pb, and SiO₂. Ferrosilicon was known as the highest toxic ore. Ore particles significantly induced DNA breaks (p < 0.01) in a dose-dependent manner. A mixture of heavy-metals and silica in trace amounts caused genetic impairment. Moreover, the human health risk of the green–melting procedure is still notable in the casting industry.

Keywords:

• Ferro-Ore
• particulate matter
• iron foundry
• A549
• comet assay

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF, Project No. 98016673) and Neuroscience Research Center (NRC), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Iran National Science Foundation (INSF, Project No. 98016673). The ethical approval code of the present work is IR.SBMU.PHNS.REC.1397.022.