THE EFFECT OF AIR POLLUTION EMITTED FROM AL-DORA REFINERY ON (8-OHdG) FOR WORKERS AND RESIDENTS

Abstract

The study aims to determine the risk of exposure to air pollution as a result of gases emitted by AL-Dora Refinery. The levels of gases emitted from the refinery in the city of Baghdad and their impact on air quality were evaluated. The gases were measured in four locations inside and near the Dora refinery, all sites urban areas except the control site was measured in AL-Yusufiyah district. The gases measured included CO, SO2, NO2, in addition to particulate matter with size 2.5 (PM2.5). The results showed gases (0.05-2.46 ppm) for carbon dioxide, (0.05-1.30 ppm) for nitrogen dioxide, (0.04-1.62 ppm) for sulfur dioxide and (0.038-5.43 ppm) for particulate matter of size 2.5, where the most polluted sites the first and second sites with direction of the wind inside Al-Dora refinery. The study also included collecting blood samples during month of December 2022 from 40 workers and 40 residents whose ages ranged between (20-60) years and represent the exposed group, and all participants were given a questionnaire included participant’s age, gender, diseases they suffered from, and hours of exposure,  while the control group (the non-exposed group) was collected from 25 individuals living in AL-Yusufiyah, the results showed people who exposed to these gases had a biological change, and the results of DNA damage showed a significant increase (P ≤ 0.01) in workers (3.35 ± 0.17 μmol/ml ) and residents (4.69 ± 0.21 μmol/ml) compared to the control group (0.905 ± 0.10 μmol/ml). An Enzyme-linked immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) device was used for diagnosis.