Comet assay to evaluate DNA damage caused by magnetic fields

Six female subjects, in the age group of 20-25 years, were included in the study. Peripheral blood was collected from each of the 6 subjects and exposed for one hr to 5 different magnetic densities (2 mT, 3 mT, 5 mT, 7 mT, 10 mT, rms) at 50 Hz, in addition to the control. The blood samples were processed for comet assay. Comet-tail length was measured in 50 cells per treatment per individual. The data were pooled for 6 subjects for each flux density of magnetic field tested. When compared with the control value, there was a significant increase in the DNA damage for each flux density. Since an increase in genomic instability is an indicator of deleterious effects on health, it may be concluded that chronic exposure to the doses used in the present study may result in an increased incidence of congenital malformations and cancer.