ISSN 1022-7954, Russian Journal of Genetics, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 613–618. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2006.

GENERAL
GENETICS

A Biomonitoring Study on the Workers

from Textile Dyeing Plants*
L. Dönbak1, E. Rencüzogullari
ˇ 2, M. Topaktas2, and G. Sahin1
1 University of Kahramanmaras Sütçü Imam, Science and Arts Faculty, Department of Biology, Kahramanmaras, Turkey;
e-mail: lale@ksu.edu.tr
2 University of Cukurova, Science and Arts Faculty, Department of Biology, Adana, 01330 Turkey

Received November 15, 2005

Abstract—We evaluated the genotoxic risk of workers from textile dyeing plants in Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
Sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and chromosomal aberrations (CAs) were investigated in peripheral blood
lymphocyte cultures of 40 workers and compared to those of 32 age-, sex-, and habit-matched healthy controls.
Groups were selected after a questionnaire administration. Use of Maras powder (a kind of smokeless tobacco)
was considered as modulating factor. The SCEs level did not show significant differences between workers and
controls. The frequency of CA was significantly higher in workers than in controls. Use of Maras powder was
a significant factor to increase the frequencies of SCE and CA in control group. The level of SCE and CA did
not correlate with the age whereas there was a significant correlation between years of exposure and CA fre-
quency. The results of this study revealed the genotoxic risk of textile dyers. Protective measures such as masks
and gloves are desirable for preventing or minimizing the occupational exposure.
DOI: 10.1134/S1022795406060044

INTRODUCTION dyes used for textile dyeing or printing by use of bacte-

The majority of human populations are exposed to a
variety of environmental and/or occupational toxicants.
Most of these agents have shown to have adverse effects
on the human health ranging from headaches, eczema,
respiratory disorders, to serious diseases such as cancer
and congenital malformations [1–3]. Although a vast
amount of biological monitoring has been conducted on
workers engaged in different occupations to explore their
health risks [4–9], little information is available on the
possible genotoxic risk of workers from textile dyeing
plants. Textile dyeing workers can expose to a wide
range of chemicals that are utilized in the working envi-
ronment. The major group of these chemicals is textile
dyes containing many different and heterogeneous
groups of chemicals. In addition to dyes, several chemi-
cals such as bleaching agents, acids, alkalis, and salts are
also used in the whole processing of fabrics.
In the past, a number of epidemiologic studies were
performed to evaluate possible health risks in textile
industry workers. Contact dermatitis, asthma, irritation
of eyes and skin, chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis have
been reported diseases among textile workers [10].
Additionally, some of the studies indicated an increased
bladder cancer for subjects working in dyeing or print-
ing [11–13]. On the other hand, various research groups
evaluated the mutagenic and genotoxic potential of
* This article was submitted by the authors in English.
rial tests, mammalian cell tests, and animal in vivo
assays. Most of these investigations revealed the
mutagenic and genotoxic effects of many anthraquinone
dyes, sulfur dyes, and azo-dyes [14–20]. Furthermore, a
number of studies have demonstrated the mutagenic
activity in effluents and wastes from textile and dye-
related industries [21–23]. However, only one literature
reference is available for the genotoxic risks of textile
dyeing workers [24], in which a significant cytogenetic
damage have been reported for dyers from India.
The Kahramanmaras province, located in the east
Mediterranean region of Turkey, has seen a rise in the
industrial sector in the last decade. In Kahramanmaras,
yarn and textile mills represent an important economic
sector. There are about 150 textile factories in the Kahr-
amanmaras, most of which have textile dyeing plants.
The workers in the dyeing plants are exposed to a wide
range of chemical groups utilized in these plants during
the textile dyeing processes with no control over the
frequency and length of exposure. Hence, their expo-
sure pattern is very complex.
In the present study, the genotoxic risk of dyers was
evaluated by means of SCE and CA assays in periph-
eral blood lymphocytes of workers exposed to chemi-
cals used in textile dyeing process, since a little infor-
mation is available on the genotoxic risk of dyers. In
addition, the use of Maras powder (a kind of smokeless
tobacco containing tobacco and ash) was considered as
a modulating factor, since it is strongly preferred in
Kahramanmaras province rather than cigarettes.

613
614 DÖNBAK et al.
Table 1. The characteristics of worker and control groups
Ages (years)
Group N
range
Workers
Maras powder non-user 20 25–38
Maras powder user 20 25–38
Total 40 25–38
Controls
Maras powder non-user 16 26–39
Maras powder user 16 27–39
Total 32 26–39
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Subjects. The workers included in this study were
those in four dyeing plants in Kahramanmaras. The
plants were small and did not have sufficient ventila-
tion. Aside from textile dyes, more than 17 different
chemical substances are utilized and stored in these
plants. Of the textile dyes used, 69.6% was reactive
dyes (monochloro triazine group, vinylsulfone group),
27.4% was disperse dyes (amino diazo benzene group,
anthraquinone group), and 3% was direct dyes (azo-
group). The other chemicals used in dyeing processes
were as follows: wetting agents (combination of sur-
face active substances), stabilizing agents (mixture of
organic chelating agents), degreasing agents (combina-
tion of fatty-alcohol derivatives), anticrease agents
(polyacrylamide), chelating agents (mixture of polycar-
bones and sulfates), levelling and dispersing agents
(mixture of etoksilates and sulfonates), fixing agents
(modified resin), antifoaming agents (dimethyl polysi-
loxane), softening agents (condensation of fatty acids,
amino modified silicone), enzymes, hypochlorite, ace-
tic acid, hydrogen peroxide, sodium chlorite, sodium
carbonate, sodium thiosulfate, and soap. Workers were
not using any protective measures such as masks or
gloves during the preparation of solutions and textile
dyeing. Hence, they were exposed to these chemicals
through inhalation and absorbtion from the skin.
A total of 40 male workers consented to participate
in this study. The subjects were selected after question-
naire administration, which included questions about
age, duration of service, lifestyle (e.g., use of Maras
powder, smoking, alcohol consumption) and health
conditions to identify exposure to any other possible
genotoxics. However, exposure dose of each individual
could not be analyzed due to several factors including
the equipment available, working environment, usage
of several different chemicals, and the sensitivity differ-
ences of analytical methods for the different sources of
exposure.
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENETICS
Duration in years
mean ± SE range mean ± SE
31.05 ± 0.90 3–11 6.70 ± 0.55
30.50 ± 1.09 4–11 6.15 ± 0.48
30.77 ± 0.70 3–11 6.42 ± 0.36
31.25 ± 1.32
31.93 ± 1.06
31.59 ± 0.83
Selected participants were classified into two groups
due to their habits, Maras powder users and non-users.
The workers using Maras powder were chewing about
one packet (25 gr) in a day. Workers from the official
department of the same plants, matched by age and
habits, were chosen as control groups. The characteris-
tics of exposed and unexposed groups are shown in
Table 1.
Sample collection. Venous blood samples of 2 ml
were taken into sterile heparinized tubes at the working
place. The tubes were labeled for individuals and
immediately transported at 4°C to the Cytogenetic Lab-
oratory of Biology Department, Çukurova University,
Adana, and slides were prepared for SCE and CA anal-
ysis. All blood samples were cultured within 10 h of
collection.
Lymphocyte cultures and cytogenetic analysis. Lym-
phocyte cultures were set up by adding 0.2 ml of heparin-
ized blood to sterile tubes containing 2.5 ml of culture
medium (Biochrom F5023) supplemented with 10 µg/ml
BrdUrd (Sigma B5002) and were incubated for 72 h
at 37°C. The cells were exposed to 0.06 fig/ml colchi-
cine (Sigma C9754) for the final 2 h. The cells were
harvested in 0.4% KC1 at 37°C and fixed in a methanol:
glacial acetic acid (3 : 1) mixture at room temperature.
The cell suspensions were dropped on the glass slides.
The staining of air-dried slides was performed using a
modified fluorescence plus Giemsa method for SCE
[25] and a 5% Giemsa method for CA [26].
A total of 25 second division metaphases were
screened for each sample for scoring of SCEs. Numer-
ical and various structural types of chromosomal aber-
rations, namely chromatid break, chromosome break,
sister union, dicentric chromosome, polyploidy, single
chromatid union, were evaluated in 100 well-spread
metaphases for each subject. The gaps were not
included as an aberration.
Statistical analysis. The significance of the differ-
ences in endpoint means between the workers and con-
trols was evaluated by Mann–Whitney U test. The asso-
Vol. 42 No. 6 2006
 A BIOMONITORING STUDY ON THE WORKERS FROM TEXTILE DYEING PLANTS 615

Table 2. Frequencies of SCE and CA in workers and control groups

Abnormalities
Groups N Habit SCE/cell ± SE CA ± SE %
B' B'' SU Dic P SCU

Control 16 M.p.* non-user 6.22 ± 0.19 38 21 6 3 – 9 4.81 ± 0.90

Worker 20 M.p. non-user 6.46 ± 0.12 113 48 18 7 12 23 11.05 ± 1.55***
Control 16 M.p. user 6.77 ± 0.11 97 19 5 4 5 3 8.31 ± 1.24
Worker 20 M.p. user 7.21 ± 0.27 155 38 13 10 25 13 12.7 ± 0.40**
Total control 32 M.p. user, non-user 6.50 ± 0.12 135 40 11 7 5 12 6.56 ± 0.30
Total worker 40 M.p. user, non-user 6.84 ± 0.16 268 86 31 17 37 36 11.87 ± 0.30***
* Maras powder, ** P < 0.05, *** P < 0.01, B': chromatid break, B'': chromosome break, SU: sister union, Dic: dicentric chromosome,
P: polyploidy, SCU: single chromatid union.

Table 3. Spearsman’s rho correlation and Mann–Whitney U test analyses of endpoints

Workers Controls
Endpoints
r P r P
SCE
SCE vs. agea –0.042 >0.05 0.432 <0.05
SCE vs. years of exposurea –0.043 >0.05
Maras powder using vs. non-usingb <0.05 <0.05
CA
CA vs. agea 0.150 >0.05 –0.181 >0.05
CA vs. years of exposurea 0.395 <0.05
Maras powder using vs. non-usingib >0.05 <0.05
a: Spearsman’s rho correlation test, b: Mann-Whitney U test.

ciation between endpoints and the independent vari-
ables were analyzed using Spearsman’s rho correlation
test. All P-values were two-tailed.
RESULTS
Table 2 presents the frequency of SCE/cell and CA
in worker and control groups. There was no significant
difference between the workers and control groups with
respect to the mean frequency of SCE (P > 0.05). In
contrast to SCE, the frequency of CA in workers
appeared significantly higher than in controls (P <
0.01). When subjects were subdivided into Maras pow-
der users and non-users, a significant increase in CA
levels were observed in workers as compared to corre-
sponding control groups. The types of chromosomal
aberrations observed were chromatid breaks, chromo-
some breaks, sister unions, dicentric chromosomes,
polyploidy, and single chromatid unions in both work-
ers and control groups. The chromatid and chromo-
some breaks were the most common type of chromo-
somal aberrations documented in all groups.
The data were also analyzed according to the age,
years of exposure, and Maras powder habits of the
exposed and control group to evaluate the effect of
these factors on the level of cytogenetic endpoints
(Table 3). Spearman’s rho correlation analysis showed
that the levels of SCE and CA did not correlate with the
age in workers (P > 0.05). However, there was a signif-
icant correlation between SCE level and age in control
group (P < 0.05). As shown in Table 3, a significant cor-
relation was observed between the years of exposure
and CA level (P < 0.05). Use of Maras powder showed
a significant effect on the frequency of SCE in both
exposed (P < 0.05) and control groups (P < 0.05). The
results revealed that the effect of Maras powder on CA
level was significantly higher in control group (P <
0.05) than in workers (P > 0.05).
DISCUSSION
The use of many chemicals in textile dyeing and
printing processes makes it a serious problem in some
countries with respect to discharge of waste products

RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENETICS Vol. 42 No. 6 2006

616 DÖNBAK et al.
into the environment and occupational exposure [16, 21].
The pollution of ecosystems with textile effluents
results in adverse effect on the flora, fauna, and health
of the population residing around of the dye-related
industries as well as textile workers.
Several previous studies concerned with the occupa-
tional risks of textile workers reported an increased risk
of bladder cancer for dyers and printers, and ascribed
the cause mainly to the exposure to textile dyes contain-
ing azogroup [11, 12, 27, 28]. Gonzales et al [13] stated
that azo-dye exposure in the textile industry might be
responsible for 16% of the bladder cancers in the
Matero area (Spain). In addition to these epidemiologic
studies, other research groups investigated the
mutagenic and genotoxic effects of textile dyes in vari-
ous test systems and have demonstrated that some of
anthraquinone dyes, sulfur dyes, and azo-dyes had
mutagenic and genotoxic effects [14–20, 29–33].
At present, more than 3000 different dyes can be
commercially available and more than half of the dyes
are containing an azogroup. An azo group (–N=N–) is
recognized as giving rise to genotoxic and mutagenic
amines. Although the use of azo-dyes has been reduced
in European countries, several thousands of textile dyes
with various chemical groups are used in the worldwide
textile finishing process. However, toxicological data of
some of these dyes have been scarce. In a recent project
[34], the possible genotoxic properties of textile dyes
used in the textile finishing companies from European
countries were investigated.
In the present study, a cytogenetic monitoring was
carried out on a group of workers in textile dyeing
plants to investigate the risk of occupational exposure
to textile chemicals. Occupational exposure in the tex-
tile dyeing plants significantly elevated the level of CA
(P < 0.01) as compared to that of the control group
(Table 2). The elevated frequency of CA suggests geno-
toxic environment in the textile dyeing plants in Kahr-
amanmaras; a possibility is the use of direct dyes con-
taining azo-group and/or disperse dyes containing
anthraquinone group. In an earlier study, Kumar et al.
[24] investigated the genotoxic risks of 11 male and
seven female workers exposed to textile dyes and
reported a significant increase in the frequencies of
SCE and CA regardless of the duration of the workers’
exposure to the dyes. Our findings on the elevated CA
frequency in workers was in agreement with those of
Kumar et al. However, we did not observe a significant
increase in the level of SCE in dyers.
In this study, the frequency of SCE and CA was not
correlated with the age in workers (P > 0.05). However,
previous findings concerned with the relation between
the age and chromosomal damage have been controver-
sial. Some studies showed a correlation between the
age and chromosomal damage [35–37], while others
did not [38–40]. Our results demonstrated a correlation
between the years of exposure and level of CA as in the
other biomonitoring studies (P < 0.05) [35, 37, 41, 42].
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENETICS
Maras powder is another source of genotoxicity
towards the majority of Kahramanmaras population
[43, 44]. An increase in the level of SCE was reported
among both Maras powder users and smokers com-
pared to non-smokers [45]. However the effect was sig-
nificantly lower in Maras powder users than in smokers.
The results of the present study showed a significant
effect of Maras powder on the level of SCE and CA in
control group (P < 0.05). However, a significant effect
of Maras powder on the SCE level was observed in
workers (P < 0.01).
The results of this study demonstrated that textile
dyers in Kahramanmaras possess genotoxic risk indi-
cated by increased frequency of chromosomal aberra-
tions. Because of the heterogeneous composition of the
dyes, it is difficult to relate the risk to any specific com-
ponents of the dyes. It is desirable to implement more
rigid safety regulations, e.g., mandatory use of masks
and gloves, for preventing or minimizing occupational
exposure of workers.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank the staff of the genetic labora-
tory of Biology Department, Çukurova University, for
their kind contribution to the preparation of slides and the
Research Foundation of Kahramanmaras Sütçü Imam
University for financial support (project no. 2003/2-29).
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