Microwave radiation-induced chromosomal aberrations in corneal epithelium of Chinese hamsters

A microwave diathermy machine was used to irradiate the eyes of 5-month-old female Chinese hamsters. The right eye of each of seven animals was irradiated with 75 mW/cm2 radiation density for 10 minutes. After one month, slit-lamp examinations revealed lens opacities in the exposed eyes of two animals. Next, the right eye of each of 32 animals was irradiated with 100 mW/cm2 radiation density for 30, 20, 10, or 5 minutes. Epithelial cells of the cornea were collected to make chromosomal preparations. There were 0.1562, 0.0794, 0.0819, and 0.0488 chromosomal breaks per cell, respectively. No chromosomal breaks were observed in three sham-exposed animals. The percentage of abnormal cells and the number of chromosomal breaks per cell in animals that had exposures of 100 mW/cm2 radiation density for 30 minutes were higher than those in control animals. These results were statistically significant at the 5 percent level.