[Cytogenetic analysis of the peripheral blood lymphocytes in people residing in regions of the Kaluga Oblast polluted with radionuclides].

In order to reveal possible genetic effects of the Chernobyl accident for human populations, a cytogenetic survey of 33 agricultural workers from 2 areas of the Kaluga Region with different radiation backgrounds (villages of Mladensk and Ogor) was conducted in 1989. At the time of investigation a dose of 137Ce for Mladensk was 3.7 ci/km2, that for Ogor--1.17 ci/km2. Lymphocyte cultivation was performed after the standard semimicromethod for 50 hours; about 155-300 cells were analyzed for chromosome aberrations of each individual, the total number of metaphase plates in 2 groups being 9360. One-factor dispersion analysis has shown that the rate of exchanges of a chromosome type, specific for radiation, was higher in the workers of the village of Mladensk than in the workers of Ogor (p less than 0.05). Thus statistically significant differences in the rate of metabolic aberrations of a chromosome type were revealed in the two study groups with different radiation backgrounds. A high sensitivity of cytogenetic analysis for population biological indication of irradiation was shown.