DNA damage Exfoliated cells Light microscopy Cytogenetic analysis Cancer risk Biomonitoring Occupational health Environmental exposure

Petrol station attendants are occupationally exposed to petroleum products and it’s fumes which represents complex mixture of genotoxic agents that possesses an increased risk of various cancers such as that of the oral mucosa. This study assessed the level of genotoxic damage in exfoliated buccal cells obtained from petrol station attendants within Oluku Axis, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Twenty - five exposed petrol station attendants were recruited from five filling stations which includes;
thirteen females and twelve males whose duration of exposure is within zero to five years while nine unexposed healthy individuals were recruited fromthe University of Benin. Buccal cell samples were collected by scrapping of the inner cheeks which was fixed with Carnoy’s reagent and stained using May - Grunwald and Giemsa stains, after which it was analyzed using a light microscope at 100x magnification. A total of 3400 cells were examined for micronuclei and other anomalies such as binucleated and anucleated cells. A significant increase in the frequencies of micronucleated cells, binucleated cells and anucleated cells (12.50, 6.17 and 6.00) with (p < 0.05) were found in the workers exposed as compared to the controls (0.67, 4.50 and 3.33)
respectively. These findings indicate that continuous exposure to benzene have the potential to induce anomalies reflecting DNA strand breaks. This study concludes that petrol station attendants within Oluku Axis experience measurable genetic damagelinked to occupational exposure to petroleum products. It recommends that protective strategies should be implemented by the concerned authorities to minimize exposure to petroleum products.