Cytogenetic examination of leucocytes of workers exposed to mercury vapour

Cytogenetic observations have been performed on male subjects occupationally exposed to elemental mercury in a plant where mercury is amalgamated with zinc and in a chloralkali plant [n = 22; average level of mercury in urine was 117 micrograms/g creatinine and of mercury in blood 3.1 micrograms/100 ml; mean duration of Hg exposure 4 years (range: 0.3-15.3)]. The exposure to mercury vapour did not result in an increased yield of structural chromosomal aberrations in peripheral blood lymphocytes of the workers. These negative results are in agreement with the findings reported for other eukaryotic systems and confirm that population monitoring based on cytogenetic examination of peripheral blood lymphocytes does not always represent a good indicator of damage to genetic material produced by a chemical.