Rev. Int. Contam. Ambie. 32 (1) 101-117, 2016 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENOTOXIC DAMAGE AND ARSENIC BLOOD CONCENTRATIONS IN INDIVIDUALS RESIDING IN AN ARSENIC CONTAMINATED AREA IN MORELOS, MEXICO Efraín TOVAR-SÁNCHEZ1, Patricia MUSSALI-GALANTE2*, Mónica MARTÍNEZ-PACHECO3, María Laura ORTIZ-HERNÁNDEZ2, Enrique SÁNCHEZ-SALINAS2 and Angeluz OLVERA-VELONA3 1 Departamento de Sistemática y Evolución, Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Univer- sidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos. Avenida Universidad 1001, Colonia Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, C.P. 62209 2 Laboratorio de Investigaciones Ambientales, Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Universidad Autó- noma del Estado de Morelos. Avenida Universidad 1001, Colonia Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, C.P. 62209 3 Departamento de Medicina Genómica y Toxicología Ambiental, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F., México, C.P. 04510 * Autor para correspondencia:
[email protected];
[email protected] (Recibido febrero 2015; aceptado mayo 2015) Key words: biomarkers, human exposure, genetic damage, comet assay, chromosome aberrations ABSTRACT Arsenic (As) contaminated drinking water is a well-known problem that still affects millions of people worldwide. Therefore, biomonitoring studies of human populations exposed to arsenic via drinking water along with the search for new biomarkers become important. Huautla, Morelos, Mexico, is a mining district where 780 000 tons of toxic wastes have been discharged at 500 m from Huautla town, where the main contaminants are Pb and As and still, there is no information about their effect on the human popula- tion health. Therefore, the aims of this study were: A) To examine As concentration in drinking water and in whole blood samples from the individuals residing in Huautla, Morelos, B) To evaluate DNA damage levels in whole blood lymphocytes from the exposed individuals and C) To evaluate if there is a correlation between DNA damage and total As blood levels from the exposed individuals.