Examination of Urinary Beta-Naphthol as a Biomarker Indicative of Jet Fuel Exposures

Abstract

A joint US Air Force/Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) study was conducted to examine molecular responses in a human cohort occupationally exposed to either JP-4 or JP-8. In this sub-study, we examined the utility of urinary beta-naphthol (uBetaNph) as a biomarker of exposure to jet fuels. Beta-naphthol is a metabolic product of naphthalene, a poly aromatic hydrocarbon found in jet fuel. Published studies using human occupational exposure samples indicated that urinary increases in BetaNph correlate well with jet fuel exposure levels. This study used a Beta-naphthol competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantitate urine samples taken from subjects (18-50 yrs old) prior to shift or immediately post-shift. Exposed group subjects worked in occupations (crew chief, flight line personnel) with likely jet fuel exposures, while the control group was matched for location but in occupations with no expected exposure (office workers). Both JP-4 and JP-8 exposure/control group urine samples were collected and analyzed for BetaNph as well as uBEtaNph - urinary BetaNph normalized with creatinine levels to account for urine volume dilution. Statistical analyses of the meta data and uBetaNph included standard analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney Rank Sum test, factor analysis, dimensionality assessment, and correlation figures. Unlike other studies, we did not see any correlation to exposure group, nor did we see indications that smoking was a confounding factor in our analyses. However, our data suggested that age does correlate with BetaNph levels. Further studies using a larger cohort and accurate quantitation of jet fuel dose should clarify issues seen in this study with the use of uBetaNph as a urinary biomarker of jet fuel exposure.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2015
Accession Number
ADA626965

Entities

People

  • Asao Kobayashi
  • Camilla A. Mauzy
  • David R. Mattie
  • Jeanette S. Frey
  • Scott C. Dillard
  • Stephen W. Mitchell
  • Trevor J Bihl

Organizations

  • Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Age Groups
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Analysis Of Variance
  • Aromatic Hydrocarbons
  • Biological Markers
  • Creatinine
  • Cyclic Hydrocarbons
  • Data Science
  • Data Sets
  • Factor Analysis
  • Fuels
  • Hydrocarbons
  • Information Science
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Naphthalenes
  • Statistical Analysis

Readers

  • Auditory Neuroscience/Auditory Physiology.
  • Exercise and Sports Science.
  • Regression Analysis.