Human toenails - a viable biomarker for mixed-metal exposure in US welders

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dydak U ; Nour M ; Rosenthal F ; Snyder S ; Ward EJ
• Description:
  Millions of welders worldwide are occupationally exposed to a mixture of metals in welding fume. Studies on neurotoxic effects of welding fumes are mostly focused on Mn, yet the effect of co-exposure to other metals has yet to be investigated. This study investigates for which of the metals highly present in welding fumes toenail metal contents may serve as biomarker for exposure, as has been shown for Mn. The main components in welding fumes are: Manganese (Mn), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Aluminum (Al), Lead (Pb). As a first step, we therefore investigated in a population of 26 welders and 15 controls which of these metals actually deposit and are measurable in human toenails. Toenail clippings were cleaned using sonication in a 1% Triton X-100 surfactant solution and digested using microwave nitric acid digestion. The samples were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Al, and Pb. Respirable exposure was estimated using an exposure model, which combines personal air samples, work histories, and modifying factors. A frequent food questionnaire was used to assess the dietary intake. Toenail Mn, Cu, Fe, and Zn levels were significantly higher in welders than in controls (p<0.01, p<0.01, p<0.05, and p<0.10) respectively). Welder and control toenail Pb and Al levels were not significantly different. After accounting for dietary intake toenail metals were found to significantly correlate (p<0.05) with exposure seven to twelve months prior to the nail being clipped. Major components of welding fume were found to deposit in human toenails; this simple biomarker may prove important for studying the effects of exposure to metal mixtures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Aluminum Compounds Biomarkers Diet Environmental Monitoring Ferrous Compounds Lead Manganese Mass Spectrometry Metals Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Toxicology Welding Zinc Compounds

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• Keywords:
  Aluminum-compounds Chemical-deposition Copper-compounds Copper-fumes Dietary-effects Employee-exposure Exposure-assessment Fumes Humans Iron-compounds Lead-compounds Lead-fumes Manganese-compounds Mass-spectrometry Metal-compounds Metal-fumes Welders Zinc-compounds

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• ISSN:
  1096-6080
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Indiana ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  74
• Volume:
  144
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046027
• Citation:
  Toxicologist 2015 Mar; 144(1):74
• CAS Registry Number:
  Aluminum (CAS RN 7429-90-5) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8) ; Iron (CAS RN 7439-89-6) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Manganese (CAS RN 7439-96-5) ; Zinc (CAS RN 7440-66-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010701
• Source Full Name:
  The Toxicologist. Society of Toxicology 54th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, March 22-26, 2015, San Diego, California
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e84fe90b24ec473cedf1f01208dd22481c45f027425c9be9c29f9788d556a6e21472f4b7657148311e155cbe50dbc782f5029ac6dfe830147c6586954cf13954
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201216/cdc_201216_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.06 MB ]