ortho-Phenylphenol (OPP) and its sodium salt, which are used as fungicides and antibacterial agents, have been found to cause carcinomas in the urinary tract of rats. To clarify the carcinogenic mechanism of OPP, we compared the DNA damage inducing ability of an OPP metabolite, phenyl-1,4-benzoquinone (PBQ) with that of another metabolite, phenylhydroquinone (PHQ). Pulsed field gel electrophoresis showed that PBQ and PHQ induced DNA strand breakage in cultured human cells, but PBQ did it more efficiently than PHQ. Significant increases in 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) were observed in cells treated with PBQ and PHQ, and the increase of 8-oxodG induced by PBQ was significantly higher than that induced by PHQ. Using 32P-5'-end-labeled DNA fragments obtained from human p53 tumor suppressor gene and c-Ha-ras-1 protooncogene, we showed that PBQ plus NADH, and also PHQ, induced DNA damage frequently at thymine residues, in the presence of Cu(II). The intensity of DNA damage by PBQ was stronger than that by PHQ, showing higher importance of PBQ than other OPP metabolites. Catalase and bathocuproine inhibited Cu(II)-mediated DNA damage by PBQ plus NADH and PHQ, suggesting that H2O2 reacts with Cu(I) to produce active species causing DNA damage. Electron spin resonance and UV-visible spectroscopic studies have demonstrated generation of semiquinone radical and superoxide from the reaction of PBQ with NADH or the Cu(II)-mediated autoxidation of PHQ. The present results suggest that these OPP metabolites cause oxidative DNA damage through H2O2 generation in cells, and the damage may lead to mutation and carcinogenesis. It is concluded that PBQ may play a more important role in the expression of OPP carcinogenicity than other OPP metabolites.