Aim: Analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes for detecting unstable chromosome aberrations in liquidators of the Chernobyl disaster consequences and in residents of territories contaminated after the accident.
Materials and methods: Peripheral blood lymphocytes were tested for unstable chromosome aberrations in 216 subjects who worked for different periods after the Chernobyl accident in 1986-1987 in the 30-km zone and at adjacent territories. The results were correlated to the duration of stay in the zone, terms of examination after the work, exposure dose fixed in the files, deviations in the health status and blood values, and with similar data on 21 residents of the stringent control regions of the Gomel district and 265 patients with different hematological diseases and donor blood samples exposed in vitro.
Results: Chromosome aberrations detected in the examined group are represented by dicentrics, paired and nonpaired fragments, acentric rings, and gaps.
Conclusion: Although not everything is yet clear, we consider that detection of unstable chromosome aberrations of the dicentric type in lymphocytes of subjects who participated in liquidation of the accident consequences in remote periods after exposure persuasively proves that a radiation exposure, no matter what its dose was, took place, and hence, there are good grounds for including the subjects with aberrations in the high risk group. On the other hand, the absence of such aberrations does not rule out the detrimental effect of radiation on the organism.