Critical review of styrene genotoxicity focused on the mutagenicity/clastogenicity literature and using current organization of economic cooperation and development guidance

<jats:p>Styrene is an important high production volume chemical used to manufacture polymeric products. In 2018, International Agency for Research on Cancer classified styrene as probably carcinogenic to humans; National Toxicology Program lists styrene as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. The genotoxicity literature for styrene and its primary metabolite, styrene 7,8‐oxide (SO), begins in the 1970s. Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently updated most genotoxicity test guidelines, making substantial new recommendations for assay conduct and data evaluation for the standard mutagenicity/clastogenicity assays. Thus, a critical review of the <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic> rodent mutagenicity/clastogenicity studies for styrene and SO, based on the latest OECD recommendations, is timely. This critical review considered whether a study was optimally designed, conducted, and interpreted and provides a critical assessment of the evidence for the mutagenicity/clastogenicity of styrene/SO. Information on the ability of styrene/SO to induce other types of genotoxicity endpoints is summarized but not critically reviewed. We conclude that when styrene is metabolized to SO, it can form DNA adducts, and positive <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> mutagenicity/clastogenicity results can be obtained. SO is mutagenic in bacteria and the <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> mouse lymphoma gene mutation assay. No rodent <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic> mutation studies were identified. SO is clastogenic in cultured mammalian cells. Although the <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> assays gave positive responses, styrene/SO is not clastogenic/aneugenic <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic> in rodents. In addition to providing updated information for styrene, this review demonstrates the application of the new OECD guidelines for chemicals with large genetic toxicology databases where published results may or may not be reliable. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.</jats:p>