Assessment of micronuclei and sister chromatid exchange frequency in the petroleum industry workers in province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia

•Workers with PPD had significant increase of frequency of SCE and MN.•Duration of exposure and working place to PPD is significantly associated with great DNA damage.•Smokers exposed to PPD have significant increase of SCE and significantly higher MN in comparison to non-exposed smokers.•The frequency of SCE and MN were higher in older subjects exposed to PPD compared with younger subjects. Persons who work with petroleum and petroleum derivatives (PPD) are potentially at risk of developing cancer mostly due to the carcinogenity of benzene. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine in which degree occupational exposure of workers to PPD causes damage to DNA by analysis of micronuclei (MN), sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) and proliferation index (PI). 30 workers of refinery in Novi Sad, participated in the study as exposed and 30 volunteers as control group. Workers exposed to PPD had significantly higher values of MN and SCE in comparison to controls. Exposition time to PPD and type of working place have also significantly effects to DNA damage. The influence of confounding factor such as smoking and age were also evaluated.