Cytogenetic Monitoring of Residents Living Near a Petroleum Refinery and Steel Factory in Erbil, Iraq

The development of industrial operations has led to a significant rise in human contact with environmental toxins, especially for individuals who live close to steel industries and petroleum refineries. Public health is seriously threatened by the potential for genetic impairment from continued exposure to these emissions. Chromosomal aberration (CA) and micronucleus (MN) assays were used in this study as reliable biological markers to assess DNA damage in people who lived close to a steel factory and an oil refinery in Iraq's Erbil Province. Blood and buccal samples were collected from 50 exposed males and 15 control participants who resided in an area free from industrial impact. Micronuclei were counted in hematoxylin-eosin-stained buccal smears, while chromosomal alterations were examined in Giemsa-stained lymphocyte cultures. The statistical analysis was performed with GraphPad Prism (version 10). According to the findings, the exposed group had a considerably higher frequency of micronucleated cells and total chromosomal alterations (p < 0.001) than the controls. Individuals who lived near industrial areas exhibited much higher levels of specific structural damage, including pulverization, exchange fragments, and dicentric and ring chromosomes, indicating ongoing genotoxic stress from extended exposure to contaminated air. In summary, the results provide the first cytogenetic evidence of measurable DNA damage associated with extended exposure to pollutants from the steel and petroleum industries in the province of Erbil. These genetic changes may increase the risk of cancer, highlighting the critical need for better environmental management, ongoing health surveillance, and preventive measures in communities near industrial complexes.