Traffic fumes can damage DNA, according to a study of toll-booth workers at a busy highway in Taiwan. Researchers led by Lai Ching-Huang of Taiwan’s National Defence Medical Centre took blood and urine samples from 47 workers at the First Highway toll station, located 10 kilometers (six miles) from the capital, Taipei. The samples were compared with those from a reference group comprising 27 female office workers. The toll workers had nearly twice the urine levels of a chemical called 8-OHdG, a marker of DNA damage inflicted by rogue molecules called free radicals. In parallel with that, they also had higher levels in their blood of 1-OHP, a metabolic byproduct from inhaling exhaust gases. Free radicals are blamed for causing cell mutation, cancer and ageing. The study is published on Tuesday in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, a specialist journal of the British Medical Association (BMA).
