Hematological changes of children exposed to volatile organic compounds containing low levels of benzene.

We conducted a cohort study to evaluate the hematological changes of children environmentally exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The study subjects comprised 192 children who consisted of 97 children living near a petrochemical estate region and 95 children living in a suburban region of Ulsan, Korea. We executed the hematological examination three times, in April, July and October. A generalized linear model analysis was used to test for changes over time in the complete blood count (CBC) values of each study group. All CBC values of children showed differences between regions in accordance with the survey month. In the model, region was a significant independent variable for the total white blood cell, red blood cell, and platelet. This suggests that the amounts of exposure to VOCs are different between study groups in different months, and environmental exposure to VOCs is associated with a higher prevalence of hematological abnormalities. Hematological abnormalities in children exposed to VOCs containing low levels of benzene could serve as a biological marker of atmospheric VOCs.