Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Assessment of health effects at chemical disposal sites: problems and prospects of cytogenetic analyses

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5236370
The cytogenetic analyses of chromosome aberrations in peripheral lymphocytes of irradiated people has proved to be a reliable method for determining the amount of exposure. The system should also work well for the limited class of chemical clastogens that are not S-dependent, and thus form aberrations at all stages of the cell cycle. For the majority of chemical mutagens, which are S-dependent, however, the utility of the system is far less certain because the DNA repair capacity of the cell can remove most of the adducts before the cells are stimulated to enter S. Sister chromatid exchanges have provided the most sensitive cytogenetic laboratory test for S-dependent chemicals. They are also an efficacious way to determine exposure of people to high doses of these chemicals, but they are insensitive to S-independent agents such as ionizing radiations. Because of interpersonal variability of response, the variability in different reference populations, and the repair phenomenon just mentioned, it has not yet been proved that SCEs can be used to monitor populations for low-level chronic exposures. It should be remembered that even when cytogenetic tests in peripheral lymphocytes show that the genetic material has been damaged, these tests can only be used to estimate risk in the population. (ERB)
Research Organization:
California Univ., San Francisco (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF01012
OSTI ID:
5236370
Report Number(s):
CONF-8106238-1; ON: DE82017006
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English