Eosinophil Count in Petrol Pump Workers in and around the Muzaffarnagar City

Background: Benzene exposure is one of the main health concerns for high risk occupations like petrol pump workers. But there is little knowledge about the effect of benzene metabolites on blood parameters. Aims & Objective: The objective of this study is to find out the effect of benzene exposure on hematological parameter especially eosinophil count on petrol pumps workers. Materials and Methods: Fifty four (54) petrol pump workers between age group of 20-60 years were included in this study and categorized into 04 groups according to duration of exposure. The data collected are represented as mean ± SD. These changes were statistically significant (<0.05) when we compared eosinophil count in study group and control group, when duration of exposure is less than 10 years. Results: When we compared eosinophil count in subjects exposed to more than 15 years the count was significantly (<0.05) decreases. The count decreases as the duration of exposure increases. Conclusion: Long term exposure to benzene may cause bone marrow suppression leads to decreased eosinophil count.