Occupational and environmental risks in and around a smelter in northern Sweden

Abstract

A significantly increased frequency of chromosomal aberrations was found among arsenic-exposed workers at the Rönnskär smelter in northern Sweden. The correlation between frequency of aberrations and arsenic exposure was rather poor. This may be due to individual variations in susceptibility to damage and to the supposed cocarcinogenic action of arsenic. The results suggested an interaction between smoking and arsenic exposure. A correlation between breaks and gaps was found, which suggests that gaps may be used as indicators of genotoxic agents.