Micronuclei as a marker for medical screening of subjects continuously occupationally exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation.

CONTEXT: Genotoxicity assays are widely employed in human biomonitoring studies to assess genetic damage inflicted by genotoxic agents. OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of micronuclei (MN) as a screening marker of occupational ionizing radiation (IR) exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using micronucleus test, peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of 402 control and exposed subjects were screened for genetic damage. RESULTS: The mean frequencies of micronucleus test parameters were significantly higher in exposed persons. Increase of micronucleus yield with duration of exposure (DOE) by 0.303MN/year was revealed. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The obtained data encourage us to consider MN as valuable markers for preventive medical screening of occupationally exposed groups.