Organophosphorus pesticide exposure decreases sperm quality: association between sperm parameters and urinary pesticide levels.

Several studies have suggested that human semen quality has declined over the past decades and some of them have associated it with occupational exposure to pesticides. However, most of these studies have not been associated with a reliable exposure level and have been designed mostly as cross-sectional studies. The present work evaluates, in a longitudinal follow-up study, the effect of organophosphate pesticides (OP) at three occupational exposure levels on semen quality.

Micronuclei induced by airborne particulate matter from Mexico City.

Particulate air pollution is an important environmental health risk. In the present study, we have investigated the ability of chemically characterized water and organic-soluble extracts of PM(10) from two different regions of Mexico City to induce micronuclei in a human epithelial cell line. We also evaluated the association between the chemical characteristics of the PM and its genotoxicity.

Effect of chemical composition on the induction of DNA damage by urban airborne particulate matter.

Airborne particulate matter (PM) contains a large number of genotoxic substances capable of endangering human health. In the present study, we have investigated the ability of chemically characterized water-soluble and organic-soluble fractions of two particle sizes (PM2.5 and PM10) from different regions of Mexico City to induce DNA damage in a human lung epithelial cell line.

House dust and inorganic urinary arsenic in two Arizona mining towns.

Residents of copper mining and smelting towns may have increased risk of arsenic exposure from elevated arsenic contained in environmental media. To determine the relation of arsenic in house dust to inorganic urinary arsenic concentrations, a door-to-door survey was conducted in Hayden and Winkelman, Arizona. A total of 122 households (404 individuals) participated; 85 provided dust samples.