Persistence of deposited metals in the lungs after stainless steel and mild steel welding fume inhalation in rats

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andrews, Ronnee N. ; Antonini JM ; Chapman R ; Chen BT ; Frazer DG ; Roberts, Jennifer R. ; Schwegler-Berry D ; Stone S ; Zeidler-Erdely PC
• Description:
  Welding generates complex metal fumes that vary in composition. The objectives of this study were to compare the persistence of deposited metals and the inflammatory potential of stainless and mild steel welding fumes, the two most common fumes used in US industry. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 40 mg/m3 of stainless or mild steel welding fumes for 3 h/day for 3 days. Controls were exposed to filtered air. Generated fume was collected, and particle size and elemental composition were determined. Bronchoalveolar lavage was done on days 0, 8, 21, and 42 after the last exposure to assess lung injury/ inflammation and to recover lung phagocytes. Non-lavaged lung samples were analyzed for total and specific metal content as a measure of metal persistence. Both welding fumes were similar in particle morphology and size. Following was the chemical composition of the fumes-- stainless steel: 57% Fe, 20% Cr, 14% Mn, and 9% Ni; mild steel: 83% Fe and 15% Mn. There was no effect of the mild steel fume on lung injury/inflammation at any time point compared to air control. Lung injury and inflammation were significantly elevated at 8 and 21 days after exposure to the stainless steel fume compared to control. Stainless steel fume exposure was associated with greater recovery of welding fume-laden macrophages from the lungs at all time points compared with the mild steel fume. A higher concentration of total metal was observed in the lungs of the stainless steel welding fume at all time points compared with the mild steel fume. The specific metals present in the two fumes were cleared from the lungs at different rates. The potentially more toxic metals (e.g., Mn, Cr) present in the stainless steel fume were cleared from the lungs more quickly than Fe, likely increasing their translocation from the respiratory system to other organs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Chemistry Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Hypersensitivity Irritants Laboratories Lung Metals Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Poisoning Respiratory Hypersensitivity Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Welding

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Welding Fume Biological-effects Chemical-hypersensitivity Chemical-properties Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Fumes Inhalation Inhalation-studies Laboratory-animals Laboratory-testing Lung-burden Lung Burden Lung Clearance Metal-fumes Metal-poisoning Metallic-fumes Occupational-exposure Physiological-factors Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Pulmonary Toxicity Respiratory-gas-analysis Respiratory-hypersensitivity Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Stainless-steel Statistical-analysis Toxic-effects Toxic-gases Toxins Welders Welding-industry

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• ISSN:
  0340-5761
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  487-498
• Volume:
  85
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037727
• Citation:
  Arch Toxicol 2011 May; 85(5):487-498
• Contact Point Address:
  James M. Antonini, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road, Mailstop 2015, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  jga6@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Archives of Toxicology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:af500c95dbfbf2133a7221ce588261a1b4a9139a6a5e2abfa30cae09108301a9e93efd3e9338eb6c77b3f0ee1e1a85dd8156b524ee16e7fad4c7753beaf0c423
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191715/cdc_191715_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 852.53 KB ]