Genotoxic Effects of Some Occupational Exposures

Many chemical pollutants in the working environmentshow genotoxic effects, and can be biologically monitored by detectingsomatic cell mutations in human lymphocytes. This study wascarried out to detect the cytogenetic effect of occupational exposure tolead (n = 27), mercury (n = 24) and benzene (n = 20).The assays usedwere: frequency of micronuclei (MN), sister chromatid exchanges(SCEs) and hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase(HGPRT) locus mutation. The exposed groups to lead, mercury andbenzene showed higher levels in the results of the selected tests whencompared to the control subjects (n = 30). The introduction of somaticcell mutation analysis in the periodic medical examination of workersexposed to these pollutants is recommended.