Hematological and hepatic alterations among copper mine workers and office employees in a copper mine in the west of Iran, 2015

Background: Workers in different occupational positions experience significant Cu exposures, however, Cu toxicity has not been fully studied as compared to other heavy metals. In the present study, hematological and hepatic alterations have been investigated among copper mine workers. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in a copper mine in west of Iran, on 402 copper mine workers (study group) and 52 office employees (control group) during winter 2015. 5ml blood samples were provided from each subject and hematological and hepatic parameters including white blood cell (WBC), platelet (PLT), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCH), lymphocytes, neutrophils, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and serum Cu levels have been determined using their commercial kits. The results were analyzed in the SPSS software using t-test and regression method.  Results: ALT, AST, HGB, MCV, MCH and plasma Cu levels among the workers were significantly higher than the office employees (p<0.050). WBC and RBC counts among the workers were significantly lower than the control group (p= 0.049 and 0.024, respectively). Serum Cu levels of 215 of the workers were higher than its normal recommended range (120 µg/dl). For the subjects with serum Cu levels above 150 µg/dl, increases in AST and ALT were in compliance with serum Cu levels increase. Conclusions: Significant hepatic and hematological alteration were observed among copper miners compared to control group. Employment of workers with background hematological and hepatic disorders in copper industries must be accompanied with great caution.