Biological effects in a chemical factory with mutagenic exposure. I. Cytogenetic and haematological parameters.

Analysis in two independent laboratories demonstrated no significant differences in chromosome aberrations or micronuclei in lymphocytes from peripheral blood between workers in a chemical factory (exposed to a mixture of chemicals, such as piperazine, low levels of ethylene oxide and formaldehyde, aromatic nitrogen compounds, and other aromatic compounds) compared to unexposed control subjects. The chemical workers had significantly higher counts of lymphocytes (3.57 vs. 2.82 X 10(9)/l; P less than 0.001), eosinophils (0.27 vs. 0.20 X 10(9)/l; P = 0.005), and basophils (0.06 vs. 0.05 X 10(9)/l; P = 0.01) than the controls. Twenty workers exposed to piperazine had higher total numbers of B-lymphocytes than control subjects.