Long-term monitoring of cytogenetic aberrations in adolescents of a large industrial town

Long-term cytogenetic monitoring was carried out in adolescents of the town of Kemerovo. In total, aberrant metaphase frequency increased from 1.53% i n 1992 to 4.40% in 1996 in Kemerovo adolescents, being significantly higher than a control frequency from 1993 to 1996. In all samples, chromosome abe rrations mostly included acentric fragments, while exchanges were rare. The highest number of aberrations per aberrant metaphase was 2 in Kemerovo ado lescents and 1 in the control sample. The observed increase in total number of chromosome aberrations suggests that the mutagenic effect of chemical e nvironmental pollutants on Kemerovo adolescents increased over the five yea rs.