Solvents such as kerosene or gasoline may be used by workers to clean their skin following contact with oily materials. This practice is not recommended, as it is well known that the solvent will defat the skin. Many also suspect that solvent washing may increase exposure by carrying materials through the skin; however, there is little documentation of this. Auto mechanics may be exposed to used gasoline engine oil (UGEO), an animal carcinogen which forms carcinogen-DNA adducts in skin and lung following topical application. This study was designed to determine if cleaning with kerosene following exposure to UGEO altered absorption of carcinogens from this material. UGEO or new oil (NO) was applied to the shaved skins of groups of HSD-ICR mice for five days. At 1 or 8 hours after application, the treated skins were cleaned with either kerosene or a commercial cleaner, or were not cleaned. Animals were sacrificed 24 hours after the last application, skins and lungs harvested, and DNA analyzed for carcinogen-DNA adducts by 32P-postlabeling. Five applications of UGEO significantly increased carcinogen-DNA adduct levels in both lungs and skin compared to animals treated with NO. DNA adduct levels in the skin were reduced significantly in groups washed with kerosene or commercial cleaner. Washing at one as opposed to eight hours after UGEO application resulted in lower adduct levels regardless of cleaner. DNA adduct levels in the lung were reduced when the commercial cleaner was used, again in a time-related fashion. However, cleaning with kerosene resulted in mean carcinogen-DNA adduct levels in the lung which were significantly higher than even the positive controls, regardless of cleaning time. This is the first demonstration that kerosene cleaning facilitates passage of carcinogens through the skin, resulting in higher levels of genetic damage in a critical internal organ.
Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
Volume 15, 2000 - Issue 4