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.