Identification of the Source of In Vitro Toxicity of the Particulate from Sanding Solid-Surface Composite [dataset]

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  This dataset contains results from laboratory tests examining how dust from common solid-surface materials, like Corian® used in countertops, affects lung cells. Sanding these materials during manufacturing or installation creates fine dust containing the material itself (like aluminum trihydrate, ATH) and potentially particles from the sandpaper. There have been concerns about lung diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, in workers exposed to this dust. This study aimed to figure out whether the dust from the Corian® itself or tiny particles from the sandpaper (aluminum oxide, ceramic, or silicon carbide) were more responsible for harmful effects on cells. Researchers exposed cultured human lung cells (THP-1 macrophages, which act like immune cells) to fine dust collected after sanding Corian® with the different sandpapers. They also tested the cells separately with the abrasive particles used in the sandpapers and with ATH. Using advanced automated microscopy (high-content imaging), they measured signs of cell stress like cell death (apoptosis and necrosis), changes in cell growth (cell cycle), and damage to the cell's nucleus. The main finding was that the dust from sanding Corian®, as well as ATH alone, caused a specific type of cell death (apoptosis). However, this dust didn't cause significant immediate cell membrane damage or interfere strongly with how the cells divided. In contrast, the abrasive particles alone did cause problems with cell division and the cell cycle, along with some cell death, but their overall pattern of effects was different from the combined Corian® dust. This suggests that the Corian® material itself, likely the ATH component, is a primary driver of the initial apoptotic stress response seen in these lung cells in vitro.
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Compounds Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Manufacturing; Particulate dust; Particulates; Respirable dust; Abrasives; In vitro study; Aluminum compounds; Toxicology; Macrophages; Aluminum oxide; Lung cells; Cell death; Aerosol particles; Countertops
• Source:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Research Dataset RD-1117-2026-0, 2026 Apr; :dataset
• DOI:
  10.26616/NIOSHRD-1117-2026-0
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Dataset
• Place as Subject:
  West Virginia ; Ohio ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA] ; Chicago Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering ; RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071510
• Contact Point Address:
  W. Kyle Mandler, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia
• Email:
  oex1@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Aluminum, hydrate (1:3) (ACI) (CAS RN 153337-83-8) ; Alumina (CAS RN 1344-28-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Resource Number:
  293909NF
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0afa47195821255e330208264a2bb6cbcc6c953d0738e09dbfe7747f3f2d8afce19635076d2d8265d3da1fe170fc94afa1f45a4fee06958fed86cae60053f4c0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259107/cdc_259107_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 133.95 KB ]