Immune Disorders in Children Exposed to Airborne Benzene and Phenol

Introduction: Motor transport exhausts contain more than 250 chemicals, including benzene and phenol. Inhalation exposure to the latter can induce immune disorders in children.

Objective: To analyze immune disorders in children exposed to airborne benzene and phenol in the area with heavy traffic.

Materials and methods: The objects of the study included ambient air of the observation and reference areas and two respective groups of 286 and 97 preschoolers. Blood levels of benzene and phenol were assayed by gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The established differences between the groups were tested for statistical significance using Student’s t-test and Z-test. The Pearson’s goodness-of-fit test (χ²) was used to determine normality of the quantitative data.

Results: In 2019–2022, average annual concentrations of benzene and phenol (n = 368) in the high traffic area demonstrated up to a 3.5- and 3.26-fold excess of the maximum allowable concentration (MAC), while in the reference area, they were 0.91 and 0.58 of the annual MAC (n = 268), respectively. Due to long-term inhalation exposure to benzene and phenol, blood levels of the latter in the observation group were 2.3 and 2 times higher than in the controls, respectively. The findings were verified by statistical cause-and-effect relationships between ambient concentrations of benzene and phenol and their blood levels in children.

Conclusion: We established an imbalance of cell differentiation phenotypes, elevated production of immunoglobulins G specific to benzene and phenol, and stress of the key adaptation compartments.

1. Badmaeva SE, Tsimmerman VI. Anthropogenic pollution of the atmospheric air in the Krasnoyarsk Territory cities. Vestnik KrasGAU. 2015;(2(101)):27-32. (In Russ.)

2. Zaitseva NV, May IV, Kleyn SV, Goryaev DV. Methodical approaches to selecting observation points and programs for observation over ambient air quality within social and hygienic monitoring and “Pure Air” Federal project. Health Risk Analysis. 2019;(3):4-17. doi: 10.21668/health.risk/2019.3.01.eng

3. Kokoulina AA, Balashov SYu, Zagorodnov SYu, Koshurnikov DN. Hygienic evaluation of objects concerning extraction, preparation and primary processing of oil, considering health risk parameters. Meditsina Truda i Promyshlennaya Ekologiya. 2016;(12):34-38. (In Russ.)

4. Rakhmanin YA, Novikov SM, Avaliani SL, Sinitsyna OO, Shashina TA. Actual problems of environmental factors risk assessment on human health and ways to improve it. Health Risk Analysis. 2015;(2):4-9.

5. Chistik OF. Statistical analysis of morbidity and mortality. Vestnik Samarskogo Gosudarstvennogo Ekonomicheskogo Universiteta. 2019;(9(179)):65-72. (In Russ.) doi: 10.46554/1993-0453-2019-9-179-65-72

6. Pomelyaiko IS. Analysis of natural environmental conditions in some Russian cities. Geoekologiya. Inzhenernaya Geologiya, Gidrogeologiya, Geokriologiya. 2018;(2):61-73. (In Russ.) doi: 10.7868/S0869780318020060

7. Zaitseva NV, Zemlyanova MA, Chashchin VP, Gudkov AB. Scientific rules for the use of biomarkers in medical and environmental studies (literature review). Ekologiya Cheloveka (Human Ecology). 2019;(9):4-14. (In Russ.) doi: 10.33396/1728-0869-2019-9-4-14

8. Lozhkina OV, Malyshev SA. Analysis of extreme roadside pollution with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals in areas with intense traffic. Tekhniko-Tekhnologicheskie Problemy Servisa. 2023;(2(64)):61-66. (In Russ.)

9. Rastokina TN, Peshkova AA, Unguryanu TN. Ambient air quality and risk of circulatory diseases for population of a large city in the European north of Russia. Health Risk Analysis. 2024;(3):4-12. doi: 10.21668/health.risk/2024.3.01.eng

10. Kayumov BA, Giyasov ShI. Ensuring environmental safety of motor vehicles. Vestnik Nauki. 2021;2(10(43)):65-74. (In Russ.)

11. Anisimova AI, Lebedeva AS. Research of innovations in the sphere of environmental safety of megapolis transport. Nauchnyy Zhurnal NIU ITMO. Seriya: Ekonomika i Ekologicheskiy Menedzhment. 2020;(3):11-21. (In Russ.) doi: 10.17586/2310-1172-2020-13-3-11-21

12. Minina NN, Zainullina RV. Investigation of the effect of exhaust gases as pollutants of atmospheric air on living organisms. In: Innovative Potential of the Development of World Science and Technology: The View of Modern Scientists: Proceedings of the XIII International Scientific and Practical Conference, Nizhny Novgorod, September 30, 2023. Nizhny Novgorod: Nauchnyy Mir Publ.; 2023:163-166. (In Russ.)

13. Dejas L, Santoni K, Meunier E, Lamkanfi M. Regulated cell death in neutrophils: From apoptosis to NETosis and pyroptosis. Semin Immunol. 2023;70:101849. doi: 10.1016/j.smim.2023.101849

14. Tishevskaya NV, Babaeva AG, Gevorkyan NM. Comparative analysis of hematopoietic activity of total RNA from bone marrow cells and splenocytes of rats with chronic benzene-induced anemia. Patologicheskaya Fiziologiya i Eksperimental’naya Terapiya. 2019;63(2):56-64. (In Russ.) doi: 10.25557/0031-2991.2019.02.56-64

15. Snyder R, Witz G, Goldstein BD. The toxicology of benzene. Environ Health Perspect. 1993;100:293-306. doi: 10.1289/ehp.93100293

16. Snyder R, Kalf GF. A perspective on benzene leukemogenesis. Crit Rev Toxicol. 1994;24(3):117-209. doi: 10.3109/10408449409021605

17. Fedotova TK, Gorbacheva AK. Sexual somatic dimorphism through early and first childhood and “quality” of environment (the level of anthropogenic stress and climatic extremeness of the residence place). Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 23: Antropologiya. 2023;(2):58-69. (In Russ.) doi: 10.32521/2074-8132.2023.2.058-069

18. Skovronskaya SA, Meshkov NA, Valtseva EA, Ivanova SV. Priority risk factors for population health in large industrial cities. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2022;101(4):459- 467. (In Russ.) doi: 10.47470/0016-9900-2022-101-4-459-467

19. Vinokurova RR. [Methodological approaches to taking into account development of innovation infrastructure in the system of indicators for assessing the quality of life.] Konkurentosposobnost' v Global'nom Mire: Ekonomika, Nauka, Tekhnologii. 2018;(1(60)):153-156. (In Russ.)

20. Zaitseva NV, Onishchenko GG, May IV, Shur PZ. Developing the methodology for health risk assessment within public management of sanitary-epidemiological welfare of the population. Health Risk Analysis. 2022;(3):4-20. doi: 10.21668/health.risk/2022.3.01.eng

21. Tokbergenov ET, Dosmukhametov AT, Askarov KA, Amrin MK, Askarov DM, Beisenbinova ZB. Assessment of aerogenic risks for people living in close proximity to Ulba Metallurgical Plant. Health Risk Analysis. 2022;(4):45-55. doi: 10.21668/health.risk/2022.4.04.eng

22. Mukhametzhanova ZT. [State-of-the-art problem of environmental pollution.] Gigiena Truda i Meditsinskaya Ekologiya. 2017;(2(55)):11-20. (In Russ.)

23. Zhumakanova K, Aitkulova S. The atmosphere and its effect on children. Universum: Meditsina i Farmakologiya. 2024;(4(109)):19-23. (In Russ.)

24. Movchan VN, Zubkova PS, Kalinina IK, Kuznetsova MA, Sheinerman NA. Assessment and forecast of the ecological situation in St. Petersburg in terms of air pollution and public health indicators. Vestnik Sankt-Petersburgskogo Universiteta. Nauki o Zemle. 2018;63(2):178-193. (In Russ.) doi: 10.21638/11701/spbu07.2018.204

25. Rotov VM, Gorenkov RV, Aleksandrova OYu. The impact of motorization on the morbidity of the population of children, adults and the elderly people. Sovremennye Problemy Zdravookhraneniya i Meditsinskoy Statistiki. 2023;(3):1014-1034. (In Russ.) doi: 10.24412/2312-2935-2023-3-1014-1034

26. Wang H, He X, Liang X, et al. Health benefits of on-road transportation pollution control programs in China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020;117(41):25370-25377. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1921271117

27. Flanagan RJ. Guidelines for the interpretation of analytical toxicology results and unit of measurement conversion factors. Ann Clin Biochem. 1998;35(Pt 2):261-267. doi: 10.1177/000456329803500210

28. Teixeira J, Delerue-Matos C, Morais S, Oliveira M. Environmental contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and contribution from biomonitoring studies to the surveillance of global health. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024;31(42):54339-54362. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-34727-3

29. Oh SE, Kim GB, Hwang SH, Ha M, Lee KM. Longitudinal trends of blood lead levels before and after leaded gasoline regulation in Korea. Environ Health Toxicol. 2017;32:e2017019. doi: 10.5620/eht.e2017019

30. Lu PCW, Shahbaz S, Winn LM. Benzene and its effects on cell signaling pathways related to hematopoiesis and leukemia. J Appl Toxicol. 2020;40(8):1018-1032. doi: 10.1002/jat.3961

31. Farris GM, Robinson SN, Wong BA, Wong VA, Hahn WP, Shah R. Effects of benzene on splenic, thymic, and femoral lymphocytes in mice. Toxicology. 1997;118(2–3):137-148. doi: 10.1016/s0300-483x(96)03606-2

32. Kerzic PJ, Liu WS, Pan MT, et al. Analysis of hydroquinone and catechol in peripheral blood of benzene-exposed workers. Chem Biol Interact. 2010;184(1-2):182-188. doi: 10.1016/j.cbi.2009.12.010