Characterization of Clinical Tolerance to Inhaled Zinc Oxide in Naive Subjects and Sheet Metal Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beckett WS ; Chen LC ; Falcone G ; Fine JM ; Gordon T ; Kinney P ; Sparer, Judith
• Description:
  Clinical tolerance to the acute effects of zinc oxide inhalation develops in workers during periods of repeated exposure. The aims of this study were to determine whether clinical tolerance is accompanied by a reduction in the acute pulmonary inflammatory and cytokine responses to zinc oxide exposure and whether tolerance can be demonstrated in sheet metal workers who chronically inhale low levels of zinc oxide. Naive (never-exposed) subjects inhaled 5 mg/m3 zinc oxide on 1 or 3 days and underwent bronchoalveolar lavage 20 hours after the final exposure. Sheet metal workers inhaled zinc oxide on 1 day and control furnace gas on another day. Among naive subjects in whom tolerance was induced, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid percent neutrophils and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly decreased compared with subjects who underwent only a single exposure. Sheet metal workers were much less symptomatic, but they still experienced a significant increase in plasma IL-6. The results indicate that clinical tolerance to zinc oxide is accompanied by reduced pulmonary inflammation and that chronically exposed sheet metal workers are not clinically affected by exposure to zinc oxide fume at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Permissible Exposure Limit. The increase in IL-6 levels observed in the clinically responsive, and to a lesser extent, tolerant, states following zinc oxide inhalation is consistent with the dual role of IL-6 as a pyrogen and anti-inflammatory agent. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Inhalation Exposure Metal Workers Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Workplace Zinc Compounds
• Keywords:
  Inhalants Metal-workers Occupational-exposure Oxides Permissible-concentration-limits Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Work-environment Workers Zinc-compounds
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024491
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2000 Nov; 42(11):1085-1091
• CAS Registry Number:
  Zinc (CAS RN 7440-66-6) ; Zinc oxide (ZnO) (CAS RN 1314-13-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Performing Organization:
  Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19920930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  19950929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a72a487f447693410abe24ff112a299c5d48cc903419b357437d776616fd783b0f59a9398f35da762997ecf84743dbd5fce7a5923642bd862feb61f49bc8903c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196269/cdc_196269_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 164.22 KB ]