Frequency of buccal cell micronuclei in abattoir workers exposed to smoke from singeing animal hide in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Many abattoir workers are frequently exposed to smoke emanating from singeing animal hides which may give rise to genetic damage in such individuals. The study was designed to evaluate the frequency of micronuclei in buccal cells of abattoir workers exposed to smoke from singeing animal hides. A total of 60 consenting individuals participated in the study – 30 of them were abattoir workers directly exposed to smoke, the other thirty were control subjects who are not directly exposed to smoke. Buccal samples were collected from all participants, stained using the Giemsa technique and evaluated for the presence of micronuclei to ascertain the total number of cells with micronuclei (CMN). Results obtained showed that abattoir workers directly exposed to smoke from singeing animal hides had significantly higher CMN (p < 0.001) and were up to 4 times more likely to have micronuclei in their buccal cells when compared to control subjects. It was also observed that those workers exposed to the smoke on a daily basis had a higher number of micronuclei in their buccal cells than others who were less frequently exposed. In conclusion exposure to smoke from singeing animal hides may be genotoxic.