Do XXXX living near a @entity595 processing site have evidence of increased somatic cell gene mutations? A first study.

@entity1 @entity20807 @entity332 @entity595 @entity9996
The objective of this study was to examine if individuals living near a @entity595 processing site have greater mutagenic damage, as measured by three mutagenicity assays, compared with subjects unexposed to any nuclear facilities. The design was a cross-sectional exploratory analysis of 112 subjects; 56 volunteer residents were from within a 5-mile radius of the Fernald @entity595 Processing site and 56 'control' subjects were from a geographically separate area unexposed to any known @entity595 emissions. The groups were constrained to be similar in age and sex composition. The main outcome measures were three @entity1 somatic gene mutation assays consisting of the @entity9996 T-lymphocyte cloning assay to measure @entity332 resistant lymphocytes; the @entity20807 assay to detect the loss of expression of the M or N allele; and the micronucleus assay as a marker of chromosomal damage. The results showed no statistically significant or quantitatively important differences between groups for all three mutagenicity assays; only the unselected cloning efficiency was statistically significantly different between groups (0.42 +/- 0.16 for the Fernald versus 0.35 +/- 0.12 for the comparison groups). In both groups, age was significantly related to @entity9996 mutant frequency, with a 1.25% rate of increase in mutant frequencies for each 1-year gain of age in the Fernald group and a 1.12% rate of increase in mutant frequencies for each 1-year gain of age in the comparison group. For the micronucleus data, females had a greater mean micronucleus frequency than males. In addition, smokers had an increased mean ln (natural logarithm) @entity9996 mutant frequency (3.06 +/- 0.14 for current smokers compared with a mean of 2.72 +/- 0.05 for non-current (i.e. never plus former) smokers). Our results are consistent with the previously reported association between sex type and micronucleus frequency, the known relationship between age and T-lymphocyte cloning efficiency and age and @entity9996 mutant frequency, and verify the wide inter-subject variability for the latter. Finally, we conclude that at a population level, the relationships between current cigarette use and @entity9996 mutant frequency, and sex type and micronucleus frequency, are stronger than is the association between geographic proximity to a @entity595 processing site and mutagenic abnormalities.
