Occupational exposure to mixtures and toxic pathways prediction for workers' health

Background Exposure to mixtures has already become a daily reality, as we are exposed to numerous chemicals throughout our lives from a variety of environmental sources. However, although humans are exposed to several mixtures, rather than a single chemical, most of the existing toxicity data are from exposure to a single chemical. Objective This is to conduct a comprehensive review of scientific evaluation and risk assessment of exposure to mixtures in the workplace for the prevention of occupational diseases. This review responds to social issues by scientifically explaining the mixed harmfulness and toxic pathological mechanisms caused by exposure to mixtures for each process, which have become social issues, and is intended to be based on the development of inhalation toxicity testing. The interaction mechanism between chemicals and the research results related to biological reactions, toxic genome expression analysis using differential gene expression analysis and the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, and data retrieved from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes DB, etc., were analyzed. The specific genes related to mixtures, genes on specific pathways related to proteins, etc., and protein-protein interactions were considered. Results The major hazardous chemicals that workers can be exposed to in the semiconductor process, gravure printing, and construction industry are combined into a matrix, focusing on carcinogenicity, germ cell mutagenicity, and reproductive toxicity (CMR), which among various hazards are the most important toxicity indicators. The main adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) that can occur when major toxic chemicals are co-exposed in the form of mixtures are illustrated, and a schematic of the AOPs provided by AOP - Wiki is shown. Gene expression and related pathway diseases by exposure to mixtures are summarized and presented. The mechanism pathway provided by the KEGG sites is shown, and additional research is considered about exposure to mixtures in each industry. Conclusion In the case of semiconductor manufacturing, among various chemical combinations showing major toxicity, catechol and dimethyl sulfoxide are the main toxic potentials. In the gravure printing process, among the mixtures of various chemicals showing major toxicity, the mixture with ethanol is suspected as having the most toxic potential. In the painting process in the construction industry, among the mixtures of various chemicals that show major toxicity, a mixture of 10 chemicals, such as benzene, toluene, and xylene, along with the components of Portland cement, are suspected of inducing toxic potential. Verification studies on these should be conducted in the future.