Health risk assessment by measuring plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) and DNA strand breakage following metal exposure in foundry workers

Significantly higher MDA levels (4.28 μM versus 1.64 μM), DNA strand breakage (6.63 versus 1.22), and 8-OH-dG levels (5.00 μg/g creatinine versus 1.84 μg/g creatinine) were found in exposure group compared with the control group. Higher levels of these parameters were also found in workers involved in manufacturing than in workers involved in administration. Higher air respirable dust concentrations were found in manufacturing departments (0.99 mg/m3) than in administrative departments (0.34 mg/m3). The health risk assessment on metals exposure showed that the cancer risk for Cd, Cr and Ni were all above 1 × 10−6. Future studies are necessary to determine whether metals exposure can contribute to oxidative damage in foundry workers.