Nasal cell micronuclei, cytology and clinical symptoms in stainless steel production workers exposed to chromium.

The objective of the present study was to determine whether workers in stainless steel production with low exposure to various forms of chromium show an increase in micronucleated nasal cells or an excess of nasal symptoms or disease. Altogether, 48 workers employed in a stainless steel production chain were studied, 29 of them in the steel melting shop with exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(6+)), 14 in the sintering and crushing departments of the ferrochromium plant with exposure to trivalent chromium (Cr(3+)) and five in the mine with exposure to chromite ore (Cr(3+)). Thirty-nine workers from the cold rolling mill, with very low exposure to chromium, served as referents.