Research Article
Odiegwu CNC, Ude RC, Onwura
Abstract
The toxicity of embalmment chemicals especially formaldehyde to human system including carcinogenicity and other adverse health effects have been reported. This study was designed to ascertain the possibility of exposure to these chemicals in the disruption of haematopoietic functions. 100 apparently healthy individuals (all males) were recruited for this research. Out of this number, 20 who were not mortuary workers and thus not exposed to the embalmment chemicals served as the control. The test groups were categorized as follows: 48 workers exposed to the chemicals for 1-7 years; 13 workers of 8-14 years exposure and 19 workers exposed for 15 years and above. The results of this study showed that the alterations in the peripheral blood cell counts and Hemoglobin (HB) levels of the exposed mortuary workers when compared with the control were not statistically significant (P>0.05). However, there was strong and statistically significant negative correlation (r=0.263, P