Assessing index of accumulated cytogenetic disorders in workers employed in metallurgy under exposure to adverse occupaitonal factors

Abstract

Metallurgy is a major economic branch in Russia with more than 4000 enterprises operating in it and seventy percent of them being city-forming ones. This study focuses on cytological assessment of the oral mucosa and secretion from the middle meatus mucosa in workers employed in metallurgy. The aim of this study was to investigate cytological laboratory indicators in workers employed in metallurgy under exposure to adverse occupational factors. A clinical and diagnostic examination of workers employed at a metallurgical plant in Bashkortostan was performed in 2019–2020; it involved cytological studies of the oral mucosa (buccal epithelium) and the middle meatus mucosa (rhinocytogram). In this study, we applied the Index of cytogenetic disorders accumulation (Iac) that allows for cellular kinetics indicators. The overall hygienic assessment of working conditions for workers employed at the analyzed metallurgic plant corresponds to the hazard category 3.2–3.3 in accordance with the criteria outlined in the Guide R (harmful, class 2 or 3). The research results revealed cytogenetic disorders of buccal epithelial cells in the workers who had contacts with adverse occupational factors. Low likelihood of cytogenetic disorders was established for 66.67 % of the workers; moderate, 9.2 %; high, 23.81 %. We assessed rhinocytograms of the workers exposed to adverse occupational factors and revealed some signs of allergic inflammation characterized with high eosinophil count. The research results confirm high significance of diagnostic procedures for developing an algorithm for screening examinations of working population as well as indicators of health disorders under exposure to adverse occupational factors (noise, heating microclimate, industrial dust, gaseous chemicals).