Induction of Micronuclei in Mice Lymphocytes Exposed to Microwave and Toluene

Increasing applications of microwave radiation are of great concern with regard to public health. Several studies have been conducted detect effects of microwave exposure genetic material leading to negative or questionable results. The Micronucleus (MN) assay which is proved to be a useful method for detection of radiation exposure-induced cytogenetic damage was used in the present study to investigate the genotoxic effect of microwave and toluene alone and in combination in Balb/c lymphocytes. The electromagnetic field with two frequencies (980, 950 MHz, 200 KHz Mod), 5 w and 500 ppm Toluene applied for two weeks. Microwave irradiation had no significant effect on the frequency of micronucleus induced, but exposure of animals to toluene alone and in combination with microwave have significantly increased the induced micronucleus (p<0.05). Indeed combination exposure of microwave and toluene showed higher rates of micronucleus in comparison with toluene alone. This study indicated that microwave radiation cannot induce any significant cytogenetic effects but, in combination with toluene could show synergistic effect.