ASSESSMENT OF MICRONUCLEUS FREQUENCY AND RESPIRATORY HEALTH SYMPTOMS AMONG TRAFFIC POLICEMEN EXPOSED TO BTEX AND PM2.5 IN KLANG VALLEY, MALAYSIA

Authors

  • Mohd Fairus Awang Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Juliana Jalaludin Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, 60115 Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
  • Suhaili Abu Bakar Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Mohd Talib Latif School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Noor Fatihah Mohamad Fandi Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Haris Hafizal Abd Hamid School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v82.14493

Keywords:

Volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, traffic-related air pollution, traffic policemen, chromosomal damage

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX), and particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) are often associated with traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and harm the health of the community. This study aimed to evaluate the personal air pollutant exposure, micronucleus (MN) frequency, and respiratory health symptoms among 160 traffic policemen and 149 office workers in Klang Valley. Personal exposure concentrations for BTEX and PM2.5 among traffic police were 390.12 μg/m3 and 140.00 μg/m3 respectively, whereas 97.64 μg/m3 (BTEX) and 23.00 µg/m3 (PM2.5) among office workers. Statistical analysis for MN frequency between traffic policemen (6.2±2.6) and office workers (3.0±2.0) shows a significant difference (p < 0.001). The Chi-Square test for respiratory health symptoms indicates that only cough shows the significant differences between traffic policemen and office workers (χ2 = 5.645, p = 0.018, PR = 1.800). In short, this study showed that TRAP exposure would increase the chromosomal damage that can cause high MN frequency among traffic policemen and would increase the prevalence of respiratory health symptoms among urban workers. 


Author Biographies

  • Mohd Fairus Awang, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
    Department of Environmental and Occupational Health 
    Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
    Universiti Putra Malaysia
    43400 UPM, Serdang, Malaysia.
  • Juliana Jalaludin, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, 60115 Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

    Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
    Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
    Universiti Putra Malaysia
    43400 UPM, Serdang, Malaysia.

  • Suhaili Abu Bakar, Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
    Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
  • Mohd Talib Latif, School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
    School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
  • Noor Fatihah Mohamad Fandi, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
    Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
    Universiti Putra Malaysia
    43400 UPM, Serdang, Malaysia.

  • Haris Hafizal Abd Hamid, School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
    School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

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Published

2020-05-22

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Vol. 82 No. 4: July 2020

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Science and Engineering

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ASSESSMENT OF MICRONUCLEUS FREQUENCY AND RESPIRATORY HEALTH SYMPTOMS AMONG TRAFFIC POLICEMEN EXPOSED TO BTEX AND PM2.5 IN KLANG VALLEY, MALAYSIA. (2020). Jurnal Teknologi, 82(4). https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v82.14493