Induction of sister chromatid exchanges in traffic policemen exposed to vehicular exhaust

In urban areas there is an explosive growth of population and the number of automobiles. The ever-increasing vehicular traffic density is posing continued threat to the ambient air quality. Traffic policemen as a group of workers are exposed occupationally to the pollutants from vehicular exhaust. Sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) as a biomarker of the pollutant's effect, were analyzed in peripheral blood lymphocytes of 85 traffic policemen and 60 control subjects. There was a significant increase in the mean SCEs ± S.D./cell in the exposed group (9.31 ± 5.29) when compared to the controls (4.18 ± 1.85). Thus the present study concludes that vehicular exhaust might induce cytogenetic damage in traffic police. Further, the more pronounced frequency of SCEs observed in the smoking traffic policemen than in the non-smoking group suggests the joint effect of smoking and vehicular exhaust.