ABSTRACT
The debate has started to increase with the negative effects of chemicals on human health and natural resources as they take more place in human life. At this point, obtaining the most accurate exposure information has become important in terms of planning protection measures. It is possible to obtain exposure information via direct and indirect methods. All methods have advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost, manpower, applicability, technical infrastructure requirements. Genotoxicity tests are the general name of the tests that aim to measure permanent or temporary damage on genetic structures due to chemicals exposed. The genotoxic effects of many chemicals have been proven and it has been shown that the genotoxic effects increase as the exposure time and intensity of the substances increase. Volatile organic compounds VOC found in almost all ambient air due to their low boiling points and high vapor pressures are the most important chemical exposure sources in both occupational and daily life due to these physicochemical properties.With the short-term genotoxicity tests developed, showing the changes made by chemical substances on the genetic material is considered as an exposure indicator and in some cases even one of the early indicators of exposure. Information on the genotoxic effects of chemicals are used in the preparation of guideline documents of international cancer research associations and as screening tests in cancer early diagnosis. At present, it is accepted that no short-term genotoxicity assessment test alone is sufficient in predicting cancer. In this review, it is aimed to discuss general information about VOCs and exposure assessment issues. Using the keywords “volatile organic compounds”, “genotoxicity”, “occupational exposure”, “occupational disease”, “comet test”, “micronucleus test” and “general screening method” from Google Academic EBSCOHost, Elsevier Science Direct and Medline databases A detailed and comprehensive literature review was made
Keywords : Volatile organic compounds, Exposure assesments, Comet test, Micronucleus test, Genotoxicity