Presently, over 135 thousand barrels of crude oil are extracted daily from the Al-ahdeb oil fields (situated at 180 km south east of Baghdad, Iraq). Millions of gallons of untreated toxic wastes, gas and crude oil are released into the environment. Oil mining mediated pollution may cause damage to humans and the environment. To investigate potential health risks for children living in this area, we recruited a sample of 6–8 year old school children residing within a 5 km radius around the oil field, and a control sample of children of the same age from a school 40 km away from the oil-field. Exfoliated buccal mucosa cells obtained from these children were analyzed applying the micronucleus (MN) cytome assay. Possible confounding variables such as x-rays performed during three weeks preceding sampling were obtained by a questionnaire. Nuclear anomalies were significantly elevated in children living near the oil-field. Micronucleated cells 1.3-fold, nuclear buds 3-folds, binucleated cells 3-folds, karyorrhetic cells 4-folds and karyolysis more than 10 folds with a significant difference (P < 0.05). Hence, children living in the proximity of Iraqi oil-fields are at elevated risk of genetic damage, which can cause detrimental health effects in the future.

目前，每天从 Al-ahdeb 油田（位于伊拉克巴格达东南 180 公里处）开采超过 13.5 万桶原油。数百万加仑未经处理的有毒废物、天然气和原油被释放到环境中。石油开采介导的污染可能对人类和环境造成损害。为了调查生活在该地区的儿童的潜在健康风险，我们招募了居住在油田周围 5 公里半径范围内的 6-8 岁学童样本，以及来自 40 公里学校的同龄儿童的控制样本。远离油田。应用微核 (MN) 细胞组测定法分析从这些儿童获得的脱落颊粘膜细胞。通过问卷调查获得了可能的混杂变量，例如在采样前三周进行的 X 射线检查。居住在油田附近的儿童的核异常显着升高。微核细胞1.3倍，核芽3倍，双核细胞3倍，核裂细胞4倍，核溶解10倍以上，差异有显着性（P < 0.05）。因此，生活在伊拉克油田附近的儿童面临更高的遗传损伤风险，这可能在未来对健康造成不利影响。