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Abstract

It has long been shown that several organic solvents such as benzene are potent carcinogens. Because of long latency and no radical treatment of cancers, evaluation of the biological effects of potent carcinogens in a population at risk might provide predictive information. Organic solvents are the most widely used chemicals in industry. In the present study, chromosomal damages induced in lymphocytes of workers occupationally exposed to toluene, thinner and benzene are evaluated by standard metaphase analysis method; chromosome and chromatid type aberrations were scored for each subject. Results obtained show that workers exposed to chemicals show a high frequency of chromosomal aberrations compared to controls (p<0.001). Of the chemicals, benzene induced a higher frequency of chromosomal aberrations than toluene or thinner (p<0.01). Results indicate that aromatic solvents studied in this investigation are potent inducers of chromosome aberrations, therefore cytogenetic methods are reliable techniques for the detection of biological effects and risk assessment of people working with chemical agents.

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