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Science 3 December 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5702, pp. 1774 - 1776
DOI: 10.1126/science.1102443
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Reports

Hematotoxicity in Workers Exposed to Low Levels of Benzene

Qing Lan,1* Luoping Zhang,2* Guilan Li,3 Roel Vermeulen,1 Rona S. Weinberg,4 Mustafa Dosemeci,1 Stephen M. Rappaport,5 Min Shen,1 Blanche P. Alter,1 Yongji Wu,6 William Kopp,7 Suramya Waidyanatha,5 Charles Rabkin,1 Weihong Guo,2 Stephen Chanock,1,8 Richard B. Hayes,1 Martha Linet,1 Sungkyoon Kim,5 Songnian Yin,3 Nathaniel Rothman,1{dagger} Martyn T. Smith2{dagger}{ddagger}

Benzene is known to have toxic effects on the blood and bone marrow, but its impact at levels below the U.S. occupational standard of 1 part per million (ppm) remains uncertain. In a study of 250 workers exposed to benzene, white blood cell and platelet counts were significantly lower than in 140 controls, even for exposure below 1 ppm in air. Progenitor cell colony formation significantly declined with increasing benzene exposure and was more sensitive to the effects of benzene than was the number of mature blood cells. Two genetic variants in key metabolizing enzymes, myeloperoxidase and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, influenced susceptibility to benzene hematotoxicity. Thus, hematotoxicity from exposure to benzene occurred at air levels of 1 ppm or less and may be particularly evident among genetically susceptible subpopulations.

1 Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
2 School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
3 Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
4 New York Blood Center, Clinical Services, White Plains, NY 10605, USA.
5 School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
6 Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
7 SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
8 Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.



* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} These authors co-supervised this work.

{ddagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: martynts{at}berkeley.edu

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