Effect of Petroleum on Haematological Parameters and Lead Level in Fuel Attendants in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Petroleum is a thick, flammable, yellow-to-black mixture of gaseous, liquid, and solid hydrocarbons that occur naturally beneath the earth's surface, its products are got from fractional distillation of crude. These products are normally dispensed from reservoir by fuel attendants to motorist and individuals that needs these products for domestic uses. Occupational exposure to petroleum products has been reported to have toxic effects on humans with much impact on the respiratory system. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of petroleum products on haematological parameters and lead levels. Fifty eight (58) adult human subjects aged between 19 to 52 years were recruited for the study after they gave us consent. Questionnaires were distributed to participants and it was filled with proper guidance. Eight fuel stations located in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, were used as locations for the study and they represent the test subjects, while students from Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, were recruited as control subjects. A total of eighteen (18) females were enrolled in the study, nine (9) of them for test and control subjects, while a total of 40 males were enrolled, 20 of them for test and control subjects. Graphpad Prism 5.0 statistical package was used to analyse the data obtained. From our findings, there was no statistically significant difference (p?0.05) in most haematological parameters (haemoglobin level, packed cell volume, platelets) and levels of lead in fuel attendants and control subjects. The white blood cells indicated a highly significant difference (p = 0.0001) in fuel attendants and may be as a result of chronic exposure to lead and petroleum products.