Hematological Profile of Employees of Petroleum Stations Exposed to Fuel in Yaounde

The automobile industry is experiencing a considerable boom today with the consequence of an exponential increase in filling stations. The number of these stations is estimated at 574 in Cameroon with about 100 in Yaounde. The benzene rich fuel they pump out constitutes a serious public health problem. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of fuel on the hematological parameters of people working in filling stations exposed to gasoline in Yaounde. A cross sectional study was carried out between April and August 2018 on 6 filling station attendants in Yaounde. A blood sample was collected from a total of 160 participants (80 of whom were exposed and 80 not exposed) in order to run a full blood count. Most of parameters of the Full Blood Count(FBC) showed a significant difference in the study population relative to the control population. There was a significant increase in RBCs (P=0.03), monocyte (P=0.02), HTE (P=0.03) and MCV (P=0.02) compared to the control population. We had a significant decrease of PNE (P=0.01).We noticed significant variations in certain hematological parameters which necessitates a regular control for proper health monitoring. Further studies would enable us to relate these different FBC values to personal exposure levels in order to make conclusions about the importance of the impact of benzene on the hematological parameters.