Application of the Ames Genotoxicity Assay and the Bioluminescent Toxicity Assay in the Testing of Urine Samples

Urine samples from ski factory, shoe factory and kindergarten workers were analysed using the Ames genotoxicity assay and Biotox™ toxicity test (BioOrbit, Turku, Finland), to screen the occupational exposure of these people to mutagenic and toxic chemicals. Different strains of Salmonella typhimurium were used for the screening of different groups. The assay was performed without S9 mix, i.e. directly acting mutagens were tested. The ski factory workers were grouped according to their specific tasks (compressors and polishers). The urinary mutagenicity of compressors analysed using Salmonella strain TA98 was significantly higher than the urinary mutagenicity of polishers (p < 0.05, Student's t test). In the case of Salmonella strains YG1021 and YG1024, the urinary mutagenicity of shoe factory workers was significantly lower than the urinary mutagenicity of the control group, i.e. the occupational exposure either had no effect or it could not be detected under the experimental conditions used. The Ames mutagenicity test, and the Biotox™ toxicity test, yielded analogous patterns in the case of all groups of people analysed: the higher average mutagenicity was always accompanied by higher average toxicity.