Genotoxicity to Human Cells Induced by Air Particulates Isolated during the Kuwait Oil Fires

doi:10.1006/enrs.1994.1003

Environmental Research

Volume 64, Issue 1, January 1994, Pages 18-25

https://doi.org/10.1006/enrs.1994.1003 Get rights and content

Abstract

In an effort to examine the potential of exposure to soot from the 1991 oil fires in the Kuwait desert for inducing genetic effects we studied the in vitro genotoxicity of this material. Air particulates isolated near the Kuwait oil fires were studied using three assays. Dose-dependent increases were observed for both sister chromatid exchanges in human peripheral blood lymphocytes and mutation at the hprt locus in the metabolically competent human lymphoblast cell line AHH-l. Similar magnitudes of response were seen using these two assays when testing a standard air particulate sample which had been isolated from the Washington, DC, area. Using the ³²P-postlabeling assay, no increase in DNA adduct formation was observed in AHH-l cells treated with particulates isolated from sampling in Kuwait.

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Cited by (17)

Strategies for cost-effective remediation of widespread oil-contaminated soils in Kuwait, an environmental legacy of the first Gulf War
2023, Journal of Environmental Management
The Kuwaiti oil fire during the first Gulf War resulted in the formation of approximately 300 “oil lakes” of varying sizes that covered over 110 km² of the desert land. This threatens the fragile desert ecosystems and human health. Following the award of over US$2 billion to the State of Kuwait by the United Nations, large-scale remediation of the oil-contaminated soils has now been on the agenda. However, how to implement the remediation program in a cost-effective way represents a major challenge. In this study, cost-effective remediation strategies were developed based on field and laboratory investigations in a typical oil lake area. Overall, most of the lighter petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) were lost due to evaporation. Long-chain aliphatic PHCs dominated the PHCs in the investigated oil lake area. This has implications for developing remediation strategies. Toxicity assessment results showed that the majority of soils pose a low environmental risk with a hazard index <1. Therefore, intensive treatment of these PHCs may not be necessary for these soils. Although active treatment methods are needed to remove the contaminants as soon as practical for the relatively small areas of high contamination, more cost-effective passive methods should be considered to minimize the remedial costs for the larger area of the non-hotspot areas. Given the extremely low risk in terms of groundwater contamination by the contaminated soils, it may not be necessary to remove the soils from the contaminated sites. A low-cost capping method should be sufficient to minimize human exposure to the PHC-contaminated soils.
Elevated somatic mutation and evidence of genomic instability in veterans with Gulf War illness
2021, Life Sciences
Citation Excerpt :
Thus, the difference between the two populations seems to involve both greater persistent mutation in the bone marrow stem cells of the affected population, as well as an increased incidence of individuals with unusually high somatic mutation frequencies, perhaps due to focal development of genomic instability. Many of the agents encountered by military personnel deployed to the Gulf theatre are known to be genotoxic, including smoke from oil fires [38,39], pesticides [40,41], jet fuel [42,43], depleted uranium [7,44–46], and even noise [47]. We have suggested that the allele loss variants we quantified in our GWI population are representative of the long-term, persistent effects of some or all of the exposures they encountered in the Gulf, but another possibility is that they exhibit a hypersensitivity to mutational induction not unlike that seen with other endpoints attributable to chemical exposures [48].
Gulf War illness (GWI) is thought to be associated with exposures experienced by soldiers deployed in the 1991 Gulf War. A major question is how these exposures continue to influence the health of these individuals three decades later. One potentially permanent effect of such exposures is the induction of genetic mutations. We investigated whether veterans with GWI exhibited persistently elevated levels of somatic mutation.
We applied the blood-based glycophorin A (GPA) somatic mutation assay to a cohort of veterans diagnosed with GWI and a set of both concurrent and historic age-matched controls. This assay quantifies red blood cells with a phenotype consistent with loss of one allele at the genetic determinant for the MN blood group, the GPA gene.
As a population, those affected with GWI exhibited an uninduced mutation frequency at the GPA locus that was effectively twice that observed in controls, a result that was statistically significant. This result was influenced by an increase in the incidence of individuals with aberrantly high mutation frequencies, seemingly higher than would be expected by dose extrapolation and consistent with the induction of localized genomic instability in the hematopoietic bone marrow stem cells. When these “outliers” were removed from consideration, the remaining affected population retained a significantly higher mean allele loss mutation frequency, suggesting that both dose-dependent bone marrow genotoxicity and induction of genomic instability are contributing to the elevation in mutation frequency in these affected veterans.
This study provides evidence that manifestation of GWI is associated with increased cumulative exposure to agents capable of inducing persistent mutations in bone marrow stem cells. Whether these mutations are involved in the clinical aspects of the condition or are simply biomarkers of overall exposure has yet to be determined. The increased incidence of genomic instability suggests that this persistent mutation can have important delayed effects on cellular integrity.
Responses of alveolar macrophages to post-Gulf-War airborne dust from Kuwait
1998, Environment International
The Kuwait oil fires of 1991 resulting from the Iraqi invasion created an unprecedented environmental pollution to which the population was exposed for a prolonged period. The impact of such pollution on human health, especially the respiratory system, needs to be adequately assessed, given the well known relationship between air pollution and respiratory diseases. Alveolar macrophages (AM) are the main resident cells in the bronchial lumen and are known to perform microbicidal and tumoricidal roles by releasing oxygen radicals and cytokines. The effects of the extracts and particles of the post oil fire airborne dust collected from air conditioner filters in the Ahmadi area of Kuwait in 1991–1995 on the in vitro spontaneous and PMA-stimulated generation of superoxide ions (O₂⁻) from guinea pig AM and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) release from mouse AM were studied. Treatment of adherent AM with aqueous extract of the 1991 dust (0.6–10 mg/mL) resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of basal, as well as PMA-induced O₂⁻ release. At lower concentrations, slight increases were seen. Fifty percent inhibition of O₂⁻ release was achieved by extracts of 1–2.4 mg/mL of the dust and at 10 mg/mL the maximal inhibition was 79–88%. At the same concentration range, the extract also inhibited the LPS-stimulated release of TNFα from mouse AM. These effects were more pronounced in the 1991 dust samples than in the 1992 and 1995 samples. No such effect was seen with the extract of silica (SiO₂) used as particulate control. All washed dust or SiO₂ particulates directly induced the release of both O₂⁻ and TNFα from these cells. These results show that the post-oil fire airborne dust of Kuwait contained soluble pollutants that were capable of inhibiting the host defensive functions of the AM and this may have possibly resulted in an increased susceptibility to respiratory infections and neoplasms among the exposed population.
Comparison of the levels of PAHs present in the dust collected from different residential areas of Kuwait, 1991-1996
1998, Environment International
Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the dust collected from the air conditioner filters from different residential areas of Kuwait were compared. The samples were collected between 1991 (when the oil fires were raging) and 1996. The results showed that high levels of PAHs were present (16.7 μg/g) in the sample collected from Ahmadi, close to oil fires. The levels dropped sharply one year later (2.4 μg/g) and continued the same trend to the present (1.6 μg/g). The 1991 sample from Jahra (relatively close to northern oil fires) also showed elevated levels (11.1 μg/g). However, the 1996 levels were also high (10.7 μg/g). The 1991 PAH levels in the dust from the different residential areas of Kuwait were comparable to the levels in the sample from a residential area in Dubai (2.7 μg/g). The 1996 levels in the AC filter dust from the same areas were not significantly different from 1991 levels.
Terrestrial and atmospheric environment during and after the Gulf War
1998, Environment International
Estimates of various types of pollutants in the terrestrial environment as a result of Kuwaiti oil fires are presented in this paper. The impacts of pollutants on the marine environment and human health are also briefly discussed. A comparative evaluation of air quality during and after the Gulf War, based on the data compiled on gaseous pollutants and particulate matter concentration at various locations within Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is also presented. The analysis shows that the concentration of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter during the oil fires in 1991 was much higher than in 1993.
Airborne dust collected from Kuwait in 1991-1992 augments peroxidation of cellular membrane lipids and enhances DNA damage
1998, Environment International
This paper reports the results of studies on airborne dust samples collected from the Ahmadi area of Kuwait in 1991, 1992, and 1995. These samples were tested for their ability to enhance peroxidative damage of lipid-rich biological membranes. The damage caused by the dust collected during 1991 and 1992 enhanced both enzymatic and non-enzymatic lipid peroxidation more significantly as compared to the dust collected during 1995. In a separate study, these samples were further tested for their ability to enhance DNA damage. The samples of 1991–92 caused single strand breaks as well as deoxyribose sugar damage. The enhancement in the single strand breaks was 33 to 40%. To find out the mechanism of DNA damage and lipid peroxidation, similar studies were performed in the presence of quenchers of hydroxyl radicals, superoxide anions (O₂), singlet oxygen and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The O₂ scavenger, superoxide dismutase, and quencher of H₂O₂, catalase, almost abolished the dust-mediated enhancement in DNA damage, suggesting a role of O₂ and H₂O₂ in this process. However, the scavengers of singlet oxygen, β-carotene and hydroxyl radical, ethanol and dimethyl sulfoxide had no effect in suppressing the enhancement of DNA damage and lipid peroxidation. These studies suggest that the airborne dust collected soon after the war was contaminated with certain constituent elements which were effective in enhancing lipid peroxidation and causing DNA damage through the generation of O₂ and H₂O₂.

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Human StudyGenotoxicity to Human Cells Induced by Air Particulates Isolated during the Kuwait Oil Fires

Abstract

Human Study
Genotoxicity to Human Cells Induced by Air Particulates Isolated during the Kuwait Oil Fires