Quantitative assessment of elemental carbon in the lungs of never smokers, cigarette smokers, and coal miners

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gilmour MI ; Green FHY ; Hays MD ; McClure ME ; McPhee LJ ; Saxena RK ; Vallyathan V ; Gilmour MI ; Green FHY ; Hays MD ; McClure ME ; McPhee LJ ; Saxena RK ; Vallyathan V
• Description:
  Inhalation exposure to particulates such as cigarette smoke and coal dust is known to contribute to the development of chronic lung disease. The purpose of this study was to estimate the amount of elemental carbon (EC) deposits from autopsied lung samples from cigarette smokers, miners, and control subjects and explore the relationship between EC level, exposure history, and the extent of chronic lung disease. The samples comprised three subgroups representing never smokers (8), chronic cigarette smokers (26), and coal miners (6). Following the dissolution of lung tissue, the extracted EC residue was quantified using a thermal-optical transmission (TOT) carbon analyzer. Mean EC levels in the lungs of the control group were 56.68 +/- 24.86 (SD) µg/g dry lung weight. Respective mean EC values in lung samples from the smokers and coal miners were 449.56 +/- 320.3 µg/g and 6678.2 +/- 6162 µg/g. These values were significantly higher than those obtained from the never-smoker group. EC levels in the lung and pack-years of cigarette smoking correlated significantly, as did EC levels and the severity of small airway disease. This study provides one of the first quantitative assessments of EC in human lungs from populations at high relative risk for the development of chronic lung disease. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Autopsy Coal Coal Mining Dust Environmental Monitoring Lung Lung Diseases Mining Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Smokers

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• Keywords:
  Autopsies Chronic-exposure Coal-dust Coal-miners Exposure-assessment Humans Inhalation-studies Lung-cells Lung-disease Lung-tissue Miners Particulate-dust Particulates Quantitative-analysis Respiratory-system-disorders Smoking

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• ISSN:
  1528-7394
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Volume:
  74
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038632
• Citation:
  J Toxicol Environ Health A 2011 May; 74(11):706-715
• Contact Point Address:
  M. Ian Gilmour, PhD, Cardiopulmonary and Immunotoxicology Branch, Environmental Public Health Division, MD: B143-04, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
• Email:
  gilmour.ian@epa.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon (CAS RN 7440-44-0) ; Carbon (CAS RN 7440-44-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1e66e728782757b23f895bee99ff595f999b05d147a138a5a5b8fcb1e3a39467a820c19bb22d905e9d995c8ea25acb606b1b9fdb552785b8c5281edcbc4678dc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192278/cdc_192278_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 199.62 KB ]