ஜர்னல் ஆஃப் கிளினிக்கல் டாக்ஸிகாலஜி
திறந்த அணுகல்
ஐ.எஸ்.எஸ்.என்: 2161-0495
ஐ.எஸ்.எஸ்.என்: 2161-0495
Tobias I Ndubuisi Ezejiofor
Objective: Exposures to hazardous conditions in industrial environments often results in sundry health effects among workers. The study investigated haematological effects of occupational activities in the petroleum refining and distribution industry in Nigeria. Methodology: Adopting routine laboratory methods, haematological indices were investigated in whole blood from randomly selected workers of Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) and Pipelines and Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC) both in Alesa-Eleme near Port Harcourt, Nigeria, as well as non-oil work civil servants serving as control subjects. Results: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) ranged 1-100 (Mean:10.94 ± 11.82 mm/hr) in oil workers against 1-36 (Mean:6.6 ± 7.81 mm/hr) in non-oil workers (P<0.05); haemoglobin (Hb): 7.60-21.10 (13.19 ± 1.31 g/dL) versus 9.10-14.90 (13.01 ± 1.54 g/dL) (P>0.05); Parked Cell Volume (PCV): 25.00-58.00 (43.31 ± 4.09%) vs.30-49 (42.70 ± 5.01%) (P>0.05); Platelets: 75.00 × 109-430.00 × 109 (232.41 ± 63.18 × 109/L) vs. 141.00 × 109 -382.00 × 109 (239.23 ± 57.30 × 109/L) (P>0.05); White Blood Cell (WBC):3.20 × 109-86.00 × 109 (7.07 ± 6.61 × 109/L) vs. 4.9 × 109-11.00 × 109 (7.36 ± 1.64 × 109/L) (P>0.05). For the WBC differentials, the values were: lymphocytes: 18.00 × 109-75.00 × 109 (52.28 ± 9.25 × 109/L) vs. 25.00 ×109-57.00 × 109 (41.60 ± 10.16 × 109/L) (P<0.01); and granulocytes: 25.00 × 109-82.00 × 109 (47.72 ± 9.24 × 109/L) vs. 43 × 109-75 × 109 (58.40 ± 10.16 × 109/L (P<0.01). Conclusion: Although mean values were still within parametric reference ranges, some variations were observed in the oil workers when compared to the controls: while granulocytes consistently decreased significantly (P<0.01), consistent significant increases in lymphocytes (P<0.01) and ESR (P<0.05) were observed, indicating a possibility of functional aberration following haematopoietic toxicity in the oil workers. Findings suggest petroleum refining and distribution industrial environments as being furnished with potentially haematotoxic substances, and haematopoietic toxicity as part of potential health effects of exposures in this industry in Nigeria. Though gender classification showed no appreciable impact, age grouping suggests that the health effects indicated by the observed variations are likely to rear up from age 40 yr. Changes observed for exposure groupings and statistically significant correlations between age, exposure (service) period and most of the parameters suggest that both age and exposure period have strong impacts in defining the patterns of variations observed in the haematological indices among the oil workers. Findings indicate a need for frequent environmental and biological monitoring for a safer and healthier workplace and workforce respectively.