Pulmonary Clearance of Welding Fume Particles as Assessed by Magnetometry and Confocal Microscopy

Details

• Personal Author:
  Antonini JM ; Brain JD ; Ekstein BA ; Lai J ; Murthy GGK ; Rogers RA
• Description:
  Pulmonary responses to welding exposures may vary due to the materials used during welding. Welding fume was collected during shielded electric arc welding from two types of consumable electrode wire: stainless steel (SS) and mild steel (MS). The objectives were to analyze the composition of the samples, describe the pulmonary clearance kinetics of the two fumes, and develop methods for imaging fume particles in the lungs. Bulk analysis of the metal constituents of the fume was characterized by energy dispersive spectroscopy (SS: 52.3% Fe, 22.2% Cr, 18.3% Mn, 4.9% Ni, 2.3% Si; MS: 89.2% Fe, 8.2% Mn, 2.6% Si). CD/VAF rats (n=4) were intratracheally instilled (1 mg/100 g b wt) with the SS or MS welding fume samples suspended in sterile saline. At 1, 7, and 14 days post-instillation, the lungs were removed. Due to the magnetic nature of the welding fumes, the quantity of particles present in the lungs could be assessed by magnetometry. The MS welding fume was eliminated from the lungs faster (p<0.05) than the SS welding fume. By 14 days, 35.5% of the initial dose of the MS particles but only 7.7% of the SS particles had been cleared from the lung. Images of particles in lung tissue were generated by confocal microscopy of aldehyde-fixed, fluorescent-stained (Lucifer Yellow CH; 0.1 mg/ml) lung pieces embedded in Spurr's epoxy. Images were recorded from a laser scanning confocal microscope fitted with an argon-ion laser using the 488 nm excitation light. With a fluorescent emission spectra >510 nm, lung tissue and cells were imaged. When using polarized light <510 nm simultaneously passed to a separate optical path, images of welding fume in the lungs were recorded which were suitable for quantitation. We have developed a method to image particles in lungs and have shown that welding fumes of different composition are cleared at different rates. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Biochemistry Environmental Monitoring Irritants Laboratories Lung Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory System Safety Welding

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• Keywords:
  Biochemical-analysis Biological-effects Biological-systems Cell-biology Cell-function Cellular-reactions Exposure-assessment Exposure-methods Fumes Gas-adsorption Gas-welders Inhalation-studies Laboratory-animals Laboratory-techniques Laboratory-testing Lung-cells Lung-function Lung-irritants Molecular-biology Molecular-structure Particle-aerodynamics Particle-counters Particulates Pulmonary-clearance Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system Quantitative-analysis Respiratory-function-tests Respiratory-gas-analysis Respiratory-gases Respiratory-irritants Welders Welders-lung Welding-industry Work-analysis Work-operations Work-performance

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• ISSN:
  0892-6638
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  9
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035887
• Citation:
  FASEB J 1995 Mar; 9(3)(I):A433
• Contact Point Address:
  Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Part Number:
  I
• Start Date:
  19930930
• Source Full Name:
  The FASEB Journal. Experimental Biology 95 - Annual Meeting of Professional Research Scientists, Atlanta, Georgia, April 9-13, 1995
• End Date:
  19980929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:23821e8193a9d628838cd785f6b78886007b7479ed9d3f031ce84a55d771fd7e0dbe3eed3b210a69b1b300bc10af547f241166f88f3357d8581150156e6ec13a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187567/cdc_187567_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.35 MB ]