Fine atmospheric particles emitted by industrial, traffic and urban sources in France: characterization and genotoxicity

Abstract

Health risks associated with inhalation of fine particulate matter of 2.5 µm in diameter or smaller depend on their atmospheric levels and physicochemical properties. The relationships between chemical compositions and genotoxic activities of particles emitted by mineral industries, traffic and urban sources during summer and winter in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (France) were investigated.

The fine particles were separated in respect to water-soluble (13 minerals and metals) and organic-extractable (16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) components that were quantified. The chromosome damaging properties of the hydrophilic and lipophilic extracts were assessed using the centromeric micronucleus assay on a human lung fibroblast cell line.

The composition of the fine particulate matter was variable and depended upon the sources and seasons. Both the hydrophilic and lipophilic extracts induced chromosome damage: (1) in hydrophilic extracts, Ca and Zn affected chromosome losses induction; (2) acenapthylene affected chromosome damage (breakages and losses) induction and naphthalene affected chromosome damage and losses induction in lipophilic extracts without metabolic activation; and (3) benzo[a]pyrene affected chromosome losses induction in lipophilic extracts with metabolic activation. Fine particulate matter arising from coal-fired power station, road traffic, and other urban sources were the most efficient to induce chromosome breakage.

Keywords:

• fine atmospheric particulate matter (PM_2.5)
• atmospheric particles
• mineral industries
• genotoxicity
• cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Grégory Gille, Patricia and Daniel Lozano, Jérémie Soubise and Claire Blouvac for them help in carrying out samples. The authors also want to express their gratitude to Kankoé Sallah for his statistical analysis performed, as well as Chiara Uboldi for her precious help to write this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Call for Research Project 2009 “Health-Environment-Work” common program from the Agence française de sécurité sanitaire de l'environnement et du travail (AFSSET) and the Agence De l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie (ADEME) [grant number 0974C0260]. Funding for this research were also provided by the Labex DRIIHM, Réseau des Observatoires Hommes – Milieux – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (ROHM–CNRS), ECCOREV, and companies Ciments Lafarge, Rio Tinto Alcan and SNET, and the agglomeration of Aix Community.