Comparison of stainless and mild steel welding fumes in generation of reactive oxygen species

Details

• Personal Author:
  Antonini JM ; Chen BT ; Frazer D ; Kenyon AJ ; Leonard, Stephen S. ; Schwegler-Berry D ; Stone SG
• Description:
  Background: Welding fumes consist of a wide range of complex metal oxide particles which can be deposited in all regions of the respiratory tract. The welding aerosol is not homogeneous and is generated mostly from the electrode/wire. Over 390,000 welders were reported in the U. S. in 2008 while over 1 million full-time welders were working worldwide. Many health effects are presently under investigation from exposure to welding fumes. Welding fume pulmonary effects have been associated with bronchitis, metal fume fever, cancer and functional changes in the lung. Our investigation focused on the generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species from stainless and mild steel welding fumes generated by a gas metal arc robotic welder. An inhalation exposure chamber located at NIOSH was used to collect the welding fume particles. Results: Our results show that hydroxyl radicals [.OH] were generated from reactions with H2O2 and after exposure to cells. Catalase reduced the generation of .OH from exposed cells indicating the involvement of H2O2. The welding fume suspension also showed the ability to cause lipid peroxidation, effect O-2 consumption, induce H2O2 generation in cells, and cause DNA damage. Conclusion: Increase in oxidative damage observed in the cellular exposures correlated well with .OH generation in size and type of welding fumes, indicating the influence of metal type and transition state on radical production as well as associated damage. Our results demonstrate that both types of welding fumes are able to generate ROS and ROS-related damage over a range of particle sizes; however, the stainless steel fumes consistently showed a significantly higher reactivity and radical generation capacity. The chemical composition of the steel had a significant impact on the ROS generation capacity with the stainless steel containing Cr and Ni causing more damage than the mild steel. Our results suggest that welding fumes may cause acute lung injury. Since type of fume generated, particle size, and elapsed time after generation of the welding exposure are significant factors in radical generation and particle deposition these factors should be considered when developing protective strategies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Biological Factors Cytotoxins Environmental Monitoring Irritants Lung Metals Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory Hypersensitivity Respiratory System Safety Welding Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Biological-effects Biological-factors Biological-monitoring Cell-biology Cytotoxic-effects Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Fumes Hydroxyl-groups Inhalation-studies Lipid-peroxidation Lung-cells Metal-oxides Particle-aerodynamics Particulates Physiological-effects Physiological-response Quantitative-analysis Respiratory-hypersensitivity Respiratory-irritants Stainless-steel Statistical-analysis Welders Welding-industry Work-environment Work-performance Work-practices Worker-health Workplace-studies

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• ISSN:
  1743-8977
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  32
• Volume:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038030
• Citation:
  Part Fibre Toxicol 2010 Nov; 7:32
• Contact Point Address:
  Stephen S. Leonard, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  SEL5@CDC.GOV
• CAS Registry Number:
  Chromium (CAS RN 7440-47-3) ; Nickel (CAS RN 7440-02-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Particle and Fibre Toxicology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f18189ab172cf65e18f894f8f8e496b5b3e88e37c3f99a2a54690f4c8b9b3241dee4147866d43c591f0c01f25b9f0c5b40a25a713f6aa152ad86e4ef1742aeb7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191877/cdc_191877_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.85 MB ]