జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ కార్సినోజెనిసిస్ & మ్యూటాజెనిసిస్

నైరూప్య

DNA hazard in Furnace Operating Workers from a Power Plant

Kir T, Durmaz E, Ulutas OK, Cok I and Donbak L

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible DNA damage in workers occupationally exposed to coal combustion products in furnace section of Afsin-Elbistan A power plant (Turkey). With this purpose, venous blood samples collected from 36 male power plant workers were analysed by comet assay for determining the level of DNA tail intensity. The obtained results were compared with those of control group consisting of 34 healthy male individuals. The data comparison showed that mean frequency of tail intensity was significantly higher in workers as compared to control group (P<0.05), respectively 9.94±2.51 and 8.48±2.31. Present study indicated the DNA damage in the peripheral lymphocytes of furnace operators, possibly due to the several chemical compounds present in the coal ash and gaseous emissions.