W. Klemans et al., CYTOGENETIC BIOMONITORING OF A POPULATION OF CHILDREN ALLEGEDLY EXPOSED TO ENVIRONMENTAL-POLLUTANTS - PHASE-2 - RESULTS OF A 3-YEAR LONGITUDINAL-STUDY, Mutation research. Genetic toxicology testing, 342(3-4), 1995, pp. 147-156
Our previous cytogenetic biomonitoring of a group of inhabitants in a
village (Mellery, Belgium) where exposure to a mixture of toxic enviro
nmental pollutants, (probably originating from a neighbouring chemical
waste disposal site) was suspected, showed that difference in the SCE
and HFC bioassays was more pronounced for children. The results of fo
llow-up study in 1992 confirmed this surprising conclusion by an even
higher incidence. As very few studies have been performed on the level
s of children's biomarkers, this group of exposed populations needed t
o be explored further. Do children residing in the vicinity of hazardo
us waste sites indeed represent a population at higher risk? In the pr
esent study, we compare the performance of various bioassays (SCE, HFC
, SSB and MN) in extended exposed and reference children's groups. Sim
ultaneously, in the exposed group, we followed variation in the lympho
cyte SCE frequencies as a function of time. Reversibility of the latte
r biomarker was ascertained subsequent to a preliminary technical reme
diation of the disposal site. We compared these data with those obtain
ed from a synchronous cross-sectional study on a group of children liv
ing near a similar chemical disposal site. The two exposed populations
did not differ from the reference population regarding to the SCE and
HFC mean levels. Comparisons of the mean levels of the two other biom
arkers, SSB and MN, showed no difference between the Mellery exposed c
hildren and the reference group from Wavre whereas significant differe
nces appeared when the Hensies group is compared either to the Mellery
or to the Wavre reference group.