Oxidative Stress among Syrian Workers Exposed to TVOCs in Primitive Oil Refining Station

Background: The Syrian oil industry suffered heavily from the ongoing civil war. As the fuel supply dropped, thousands of makeshift oil refineries sprung up across the region in order to deal with the demand. Exposure of workers to pollutants such as hydrocarbons at the air-workplace may lead to various health problems. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) exposure on oxidative stress levels of the primitive oil workers. Subjects& Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 80 male participants consisting of 40 primitive oil workers occupationally exposed to TVOCs in Idlep City- Syria, and 40 male control. All workers were subjected to a structured questionnaire included questions about (Personal and socio-demographic data-Occupational history) and laboratory investigations to measure oxidative stress markers (total oxidative stress (TOS) and total antioxidants status (TAS)). As well as, the measure of TVOCs in the air of work environment. Results: the average levels of TVOCs in the air work place were (3907 PPM). The mean levels of TOS in the present study were found to be highly significantly increased while the levels of TAS were highly significantly decreased in exposed workers as compared to the control group ( P less than 0.0001). There was a positive association between duration of exposure and TOS levels, while there was a negative association between TOS and TAS in exposed workers (0.0001) respectively. Conclusion: The investigated workers are exposed to highly dangerous levels of TVOCs in their workplace and they work under far worse conditions. The workers occupationally exposed to these pollutants for prolonged periods leads to an increase in their oxidative stress as evidenced by elevated TOS levels and overwhelmed antioxidant TAS and consequences, resulting in a broad spectrum of diseases.