Showing papers in "Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 1980"

Deposition, retention, and clearance of inhaled particles

Abstract: The relation between the concentrations and characteristics of air contaminants in the work place and the resultant toxic doses and potential hazards after their inhalation depends greatly on their patterns of deposition and the rates and pathways for their clearance from the deposition sites. The distribution of the deposition sites of inhaled particles is strongly dependent on their aerodynamic diameters. For normal man, inhaled non-hygroscopic particles greater than or equal to 2 micrometers that deposit in the conducting airways by impaction are concentrated on to a small fraction of the surface. Cigarette smoking and bronchitis produce a proximal shift in the deposition pattern. The major factor affecting the deposition of smaller particles is their transfer from tidal to reserve air. For particles soluble in respiratory tract fluid, systemic uptake may be relatively complete for all deposition patterns, and there may be local toxic or irritant effects or both. On the other hand, slowly soluble particles depositing in the conducting airways are carried on the surface to the glottis and are swallowed within one day. Mucociliary transport rates are highly variable, both along the ciliated airways of a given individual and between individuals. The changes in clearance rates produced by drugs, cigarette smoke, and other environmental pollutants can greatly increase or decrease these rates. Particles deposited in non-ciliated airways have large surface-to-volume ratios, and clearance by dissolution can occur for materials generally considered insoluble. They may also be cleared as free particles either by passive transport along surface liquids or, after phagocytosis, by transport within alveolar macrophages. If the particles penetrate the epithelium, either bare or within macrophages, they may be sequestered within cells or enter the lymphatic circulation and be carried to pleural, hilar, and more distant lymph nodes. Non-toxic insoluble particles are cleared from the alveolar region in a series of temporal phases. The earliest, lasting several weeks, appears to include the clearance of phagocytosed particles via the bronchial tree. The terminal phases appear to be related to solubility at interstitial sites. While the mechanisms and dynamics of particle deposition and clearance are reasonably well established in broad outline, reliable quantitative data are lacking in many specific areas. More information is needed on: (1) normal behaviour, (2) the extent of the reserve capacity of the system to cope with occupational exposures, and (3) the role of compensatory changes in airway sizes and in secretory and transport rates in providing protection against occupational exposures, and in relation to the development and progression of dysfunction and disease.

Effects of chronic ethanol consumption on hepatic metabolism of aromatic and chlorinated hydrocarbons in rats.

Abstract: The activities of liver drug-metabolising enzymes for 16 aromatic or chlorinated hydrocarbons were measured in male rats after a three-week daily intake of ethanol amounting to 30% of total energy intake. Although the ethanol feeding produced only a slight increase in the microsomal cytochrome P-450 content, it increased the in-vitro metabolism of most hydrocarbons three-to six-fold. That a major part of this enhanced activity disappeared after one-day withdrawal of ethanol suggests that recent intake of ethanol plays an important part in accelerating the metabolism of hydrocarbons. The enzyme activity enhanced by ethanol was found to be related with changes occurring not in the soluble but in the microsomal fractions. A metabolism study using toluene as a model substrate indicated that chronic ethanol consumption increases the in-vivo metabolism of this hydrocarbon in rats.

Adenocarcinoma of the nose and paranasal sinuses in shoemakers and woodworkers in the province of Florence, Italy (1963-77).

Abstract: Adenocarcinoma of the nose and paranasal sinuses has been associated with occupational exposure to wood and leather dust. Strong evidence has been found for such an association in Florence, Italy, from 1963 to 1977. Sixty-nine cases of primary cancer of the nose and paranasal sinuses were identified from hospital records. There were 13 cases of adenocarcinoma, 11 of which were successfully traced and interviewed (patient or relative). Of the 11 cases, three were woodworkers with substantial exposure to wood dust (17 years9 average employment) and seven were shoemakers, mostly trimmers. When matched to either of two separate sets of controls (non-cancer hospital patients, and non-adenocarcinoma nose or paranasal sinus cancer patients), the association with occupation was statistically significant. Smoking was ruled out as a source of bias.

Concentrations and dimensions of coated and uncoated asbestos fibres in the human lung.

Abstract: Concentrations and length distributions of uncoated and coated amphibole-type fibres in samples of human lung taken at necropsy were measured by optical microscopy using the membrane filter technique that enables fibres with diameters down to about 0.2 micron to be detected. The subjects included 10 who died with mesothelial tumours, three with lung cancer, and eight of other causes. Measurements of fibre concentrations are compared with those of other workers. It can be deduced from the length distributions that fibres less than 5 microns long are cleared from the lung more efficiently than longer ones. The clearance of short fibres appears to be inhibited in subjects with asbestosis, however. The length distributions of uncoated and coated fibres were dissimilar. In general, few fibres less than 10 microns in length were coated and few greater than 40 microns in length were uncoated. The probability of a fibre of given length, however, becoming coated varied considerably from subject to subject. Possible reasons for this are discussed.

A comparative study on the neurotoxicity of n-pentane, n-hexane, and n-heptane in the rat.

Abstract: The neurotoxicity of n-pentane, n-hexane, and n-heptane have been studied in Wistar strain male rats after exposure to 3000 ppm of n-pentane, n-hexane, or n-heptane for 12 hours a day for 16 weeks. The nerve conduction velocity and the distal latency were measured before the beginning of the exposure and after exposure for four, eight, 12, and 16 weeks. The experiment showed that n-hexane disturbed the conduction velocity of the motor nerve and the mixed nerve and prolonged the distal latency in the rat's tail, but that n-pentane and n-heptane did not. The light and electron microscopic examination showed that the peripheral nerve, the neuromuscular junction, and the muscle fibre of the rats exposed to n-hexane were severely impaired, but those of the rats exposed to n-pentane or n-heptane showed no particular changes even after 16 weeks of exposure. These results show that n-hexane is far more toxic to the peripheral nerve of the rat than n-pentane or n-heptane. It is necessary to study the neurotoxicity of other petroleum hydrocarbons, since some reports suggest that petroleum solvents might possibly contain neurotoxic hydrocarbons other than n-hexane.

In-vivo determination of lead in the skeleton after occupational exposure to lead.

Abstract: The concentrations of lead in the phalanges and in the blood were determined in 22 subjects who had formerly been exposed to lead in a storage battery plant, which had been closed for seven years. The bone lead concentration was measured in vivo using an ϰ-ray fluorescence technique in which two 57Co γ-ray sources were used for generating the characteristic ϰ-rays of lead, which were measured with a Ge(Li) detector. In three subjects the variation of the lead concentration along the fore finger was measured together with the lead concentration in the tibia. The measured lead concentrations in the phalanges were between 20 μg/g (our detection limit) and 118 μg/g. The lead concentration in the phalanges was found to increase with the length of employment, but no simple relation was found between the lead concentrations in the blood and in the phalanges. The decrease in the blood lead concentration after the cessation of exposure was followed in four subjects. Seven years after exposure had ended, the blood lead concentration was found to be more dependent on the daily intake of lead than on the release of lead from the skeleton. These experimental results could be explained by a two-compartment model using exchange rates given in publications. This model has also been used to calculate the blood lead concentration that could be achieved after a sudden release of lead from the skeleton.

Healthy worker effect in the total Finnish population.

Abstract: The selection due to the "healthy worker effect" was estimated from a random sample of the total Finnish population. The sample of 20 000 people was followed for changes in occupations from 1960 to 1970 and for deaths in 1971-5. Those entering the active work force had a standard mortality ratio of 70, indicating a healthy population selection effect. Those staying in the same occupational category from 1960 to 1970 had a 20% lower mortality than those who did not. This survivor population effect was due to changes to another occupational group and to early retirement. These factors had an inverse effect on the survival history of an occupational group.

An investigation of the acute behavioural effects of styrene on factory workers.

Abstract: A group of men exposed to styrene in a factory building glass-fibre boats performed a series of behavioural tests at the beginning and end of their shift, and the results were compared with those of a referent group from the same factory. Changes in mood were noted in both groups of workers but were greater in the exposed men; moreover, the change in mood was correlated with blood styrene concentration. In the styrene workers the morning reaction time was slower than that for the referents. During the day the reaction time of the men with low blood styrene concentration (less than or equal to 5.4 mumol/l) speeded up and in the afternoon was similar to that of the referents; the reaction time for the men with high blood styrene concentration (greater than or equal to 5.5 mumol/l) was unchanged. Data taken from a questionnaire indicated that the men exposed were much more likely than was the referent group to report feeling unduly tired. They also reported feeling more tired on Friday night than Monday night, suggesting that the styrene might have a cumulative effect through the week.

Radiological findings as predictors of mortality in Quebec asbestos workers.

Abstract: Two cohorts of chrysotile miners and millers in Quebec were selected to study the extent to which chest radiographs taken while still employed predict mortality. The paper presents mainly findings in much the larger cohort, which consisted of 4559 men (two-thirds past workers) whose latest radiograph had been assessed by one of six experienced readers into what became the UICC/Cincinnati (U/C) classification; by the end of 1975 there had been 1543 deaths in this cohort. The findings were generally confirmed in the other cohort, comprising 988 current male workers, who had been examined in 1967-8 by questionnaires on respiratory symptoms and smoking and by lung function tests, and for whom all six readers had assessed their 1966 radiographs into the U/C classification; 130 men had died by the end of 1975. Men with any radiographic abnormality, heavy dust exposure, or a history of cigarette smoking had relative risks (RRs) of total mortality greater than unity. Death from pneumoconiosis was associated with small parenchymal opacities, usually irregular, of profusion l/l or more, and with heavy dust exposure but not with smoking. Most who died from lung cancer had smoked cigarettes, or had been heavily exposed to dust, or both. Small parenchymal opacities were present in most but not all the excess deaths due to lung cancer. Deaths from other malignant diseases showed no consistent dust or x-ray patterns. RRs of deaths from most other causes were raised for certain radiographic features. Failures in forecasting mortality were primarily due to deaths in which asbestos-related disease was not the primary cause but may have been a contributing factor. The main findings validated the U/C classification convincingly, particulary as the films had been taken as routine and were of modest quality. Despite objective rules for the reading and the fact that all six readers were contributing to the development of the classification, there was inevitably some observer variation. The importance of radiographic technique and the need for careful control of the reading is evident. Our results provide support for the use of the chest radiograph for surveillance of asbestos workers, and for environmental monitoring. Its protective value for individual workers, however, is limited to the extent that radiological progression continues after withdrawal from exposure, and by the carcinogenic risk associated with dust already retained.

Epoxides--is there a human health problem?

Abstract: The purpose of this review is to consider whether epoxides represent a hazard to human health. Possible means of occupational and non-occupational exposure are discussed with reference to the production and uses of industrially important compounds and other epoxides, such as naturally occurring plant and fungal products. In addition to epoxides themselves, unsaturated compounds that may be metabolised in vivo to epoxides are included, since this appears to be a further important means of exposure. The toxicology, in particular carcinogenicity and mutagenicity, is discussed, along with a brief outline of the biochemistry such as metabolism, binding to cell constituents, and DNA repair mechanisms. The question of interactions between different epoxides in vivo is also raised.

A neurological and biochemical study of early lead poisoning.

Abstract: Changes in nerve conduction velocity were found in 94 workers exposed to lead in a battery factory compared with 94 age-matched controls. There was no clinical evidence of nerve damage in the lead workers. The mean blood lead concentration in the 94 lead workers was 2·9 μmol/l (60 μg/100 ml) and their length of exposure to lead ranged from 6 months to 33 years. All mean maximum motor nerve conduction velocities (MMCV) measured were highly statistically significantly lower in the lead-exposed group when compared with their age-matched controls. Thus mean ulnar MMCV was 53·4 m/s in lead workers and 55·6 m/s in control subjects (p The amplitude of the muscle action potential produced by proximal stimulation of a nerve was expressed as a percentage of the amplitude of the muscle action potential produced by distal stimulation and the percentage amplitude thus obtained used as an indicator of the conduction velocity of slower fibres (SFCV). Peroneal nerve percentage amplitude of lead workers was statistically significantly lower (p There was no statistically significant correlation to indicate that progressive slowing of nerve conduction (MMCV and SFCV) was associated with increasing exposure to lead (as indicated by blood and urine lead concentrations) or with the commonly measured biochemical changes associated with disturbed haemopoiesis in lead exposure (δ-aminolaevulinic acid dehydrase; free erythrocytc protoporphyrin; haemoglobin and urinary δ-aminolaevulinic acid). MMCV of the ulnar nerve was the only conduction velocity statistically significantly correlated with length of exposure to lead. Increased length of exposure to lead was associated with a decrease in the ulnar MMCV. Only 13 of the subjects had been exposed to lead for two years or less and in none of them had the blood lead ever risen above 3·9 μmol/l (80 μg/100 ml) in three-monthly tests (mean blood lead concentration at time of testing: 2·8 μmol/l). In these subjects the MMCV of ulnar, radial, and peroneal nerves and the peroneal percentage amplitude were statistically significantly reduced. The results from this group suggest that the onset of nerve conduction changes occurs within two years and at concentrations of lead in blood of less than 3·9 μmol/l (80 μg/100 ml).

Mortality and incidence of tumours among ferrochromium workers.

Abstract: An investigation was carried out to determine the cause of death and the incidence of tumours among 1932 workers in a ferrochromium plant in Sweden. The workers had been exposed mainly to metallic and trivalent chromium (Cr3+); hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) was also present in certain working operations. The population was defined as all men employed at the plant for at least one year during 1930-75, and were classified according to their occupation within the industry. The causes of death were initially obtained from parish registers. For deaths occuring between 1951 and 1975, death certificates were collected from the National Central Bureau of Statistics. Data on the incidence of cancer during 1958-75 were obtained from the Swedish National Cancer Registry. Expected death rates and incidence of tumours were calculated, based on the rates for the county in which the factory was situated. The total number of deaths from tumours was less than expected (69 versus 76·7). Five cases of respiratory cancer were found, against an expected 7·2. Among maintenance workers, an increased death rate from all tumours and an increased number of respiratory tumours were found. Two of the latter were mesotheliomas and could be connected with asbestos exposure. No increase was found for respiratory tumours among the heavily exposed workers at the arc-furnaces; one case of mesothelioma was found in this group.

Changes in lung function after exposure to vanadium compounds in fuel oil ash

Abstract: Seventeen men were studied during the cleaning of bottom ash from the boiler of an oil-fired electricity generating station. The men were exposed to a time weighted average respirable dust (<10 μ) of 523 μg/m3, containing 15·3% vanadium. Sixteen of the men wore respirators, subsequently found to have peak leakages of up to 9%, while one volunteer had a one-hour exposure wearing only a compressed paper oronasal mask. Symptoms experienced by the men were recorded, urine samples were collected for assessment of vanadium concentration 24 hours after the first exposure, and spirometry was performed daily for four days and on the eight day. Pronounced reductions in forced vital capacity (mean 0·5 l), forced expiratory volume (mean 0·5 l), and forced mid-expiratory flow (mean 1·16 l/s) had occurred within 24 hours of first exposure to the dust, and had not returned to pre-exposure levels by the eight day. Four weeks after exposure no residual deficits were present. A urinary vanadium concentration of 280 μg/l was found in the volunteer, but none of the others had concentrations above the test-threshold of 40 μg/l. Symptoms and signs of airway irritation were noted. The timing, duration, and quality of changes in lung function, however, indicated that the response could not be attributed solely to a reflex bronchial reaction to irritation by an inert dust.

Incidence of cancer among ferrochromium and ferrosilicon workers.

Abstract: The results are presented of a study of the overall mortality and the incidence of cancer in male workers producing ferrosilicon and ferrochromium. Although the study included all present and retired workers employed in the factory for more than one year from 1928 until 1977 inclusive, the incidence of cancer in those 976 workers who started work before 1 January 1960 was studied in particular. Both the overall mortality and the incidence of cancer for all sites were lower than expected when compared with the national expected figures. Nine cases of lung cancer were found in the total population—seven in the ferrochromium subpopulation against expected rates of 3·1 and 1·8 when using national and local expected rates respectively as reference, and less than one expected case when using an internal reference population. A 1·5 O/E ratio was found for prostatic cancer in the whole study population. The results indicate that the increased incidence of lung cancer in the ferrochromium group has a causal relationship to occupational exposure. Perforation of the nasal septum was found in two present ferrochromium workers, and hexavalent chromium was found in the working atmosphere at the ferrochromium arc-furnaces during an industrial hygiene survey carried out in 1975. It is therefore concluded that the raised incidence of lung cancer is partly due to exposure to chromates. The results do not support the suggestion that exposure to chromic compounds entails a cancer hazard similar to that of exposure to hexavalent chromium compounds.

Predictable "individual differences" in uptake and excretion of gases and lipid soluble vapours simulation study.

Abstract: A five-compartment pharmacokinetic model with two excretory pathways, exhalation and metabolism, based on first order kinetics is used to outline the effect of body build, pulmonary ventilation, and lipid content in blood on uptake, distribution, and clearance of low solubility gases and lipid soluble vapours during and after exposure. The model shows the extent that individual differences have on altering uptake and distribution, with consequent changes in blood concentration, rate of excretion, and toxicity, even when variations in these parameters are within physiological ranges. The model is also used to describe the concentration variation of inhaled substances in tissues of subjects exposed to concentrations with permitted excursions. During the same course of exposure, the tissue concentrations of low solubility gases fluctuate much more than tissue concentrations of lipid soluble vapours. The fluctuation is reduced by metabolism of inhaled substance. These conclusions are recommended for consideration whenever evaluating the effect of excursions above the threshold limit values used in the control of industrial exposures (by excursion factors).

Application of mathematical modelling for assessing the biological half-times of chromium and nickel in field studies.

Abstract: The biological half-times of urinary chromium and nickel excretion and plasma nickel concentration were calculated for four welders and four electroplaters. A linear one-compartment kinetic model gave estimates of the half-times ranging from 15 to 41 hours for chromium in urine, from 17 to 39 hours for nickel in urine, and from 20 to 34 hours for nickel in plasma. The model allows a precise description to be made of a worker's state of exposure as affected by a varying concentration of the metals in the air.

Microbial and immunological investigations and remedial action after an outbreak of humidifier fever.

Abstract: Humidifier fever (Monday sickness) occuring in office staff in a factory processing rayon presented as pyrexia with a polyuria and leucocytosis on the first day back to work after a break during the winter half of the year. Chest radiographs showed no abnormalities but pulmonary function tests indicated mild airways obstruction in the affected group as a whole. Respirable dust samples taken on a Monday when 11 cases occured were not pyrogenic, indicating that a mechanism other than direct pyrogen activity produced the pyrexia. Efforts were then directed to determining an immunological basis for the episodes. In particular, Thermoactinomyces vulgaris, previously held responsible for humidifier fever, was studied. During the episode of 11 cases, the number of viable airborne spores of this organism was far higher than on Mondays when no cases occured. In a second episode of nine cases, however, the airborne viable count was of the same order as non-episode Mondays. Extracts of T vulgaris produced lines of precipitation in gel diffusion studies with roughly half the office staff sera tested, but no correlation was observed between precipitin line formation and disease. A similar proportion of normal sera reacted against this extract. Extracts of dust lying on the topside surface of the suspended ceiling above the office, however, produced precipitin lines with sera from 16/18 affected individuals and 2/18 non-affected individuals (p Extensive microbial analysis failed to detect any one fungus or bacterium that produced antigens capable of reacting with positive serum, but extracts of amoebae correlated absolutely with humidifier material and ceiling dust extract in gel diffusion studies. A reaction of identity observed between the amoebae and ceiling dust extracts showed the presence of identical antigens. In similar studies the high degree of cross reactivity with antigens and sera from Spanish and Swedish outbreaks was obtained, which suggested a common antigen source in humidifier fever. That these antigens were produced by microbial development on rayon fibre could be shown by incubating rayon dust from the factory atmosphere with sterile water and testing with sera from affected individuals. Bales of rayon entering the factory did not have this potential to develop antigens, indicating microbial contamination after handling and processing. The initial source of contamination was considered to be the humidifier disseminating microbial spores and cysts throughout the factory and on to the suspended ceiling above the office. These were capable of secondary development on settled rayon fly under wet conditions, and evidence for this was obtained. Remedial action included cleaning the humidifier, modifying the baffle plates, running water to waste, and installing a prefilter. Dust was eliminated from the office area, and new accommodation, including the building of an office block detached from the main factory, was arranged for the office workers. So far no further cases have been reported.

Distribution of lead-203 in human peripheral blood in vitro

Abstract: In-vitro experiments using 203Pb were performed to identify the lead binding components in human peripheral blood. The distribution of lead in plasma, in the red cell membrane, and within the red cell was also investigated. Studies of the distribution of 203Pb in whole blood showed that at a lead concentration of 2.45 mumol/l (50 micrograms/100 ml) about 94% of lead had been incorporated by the erythrocytes and 6% remained in the plasma. After extraction of lipid by a methanol/chloroform mixture, about 75% of the lead was found to be associated with the protein fraction. The lipid contained about 21% of the 203Pb, the remainder being in the aqueous plasma. SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of blood plasma showed that almost 90% of the 203Pb was present in the albumin fraction; the remainder was likely to be associated with high molecular weight globulins. Several binding sites were identified on the erythrocyte membrane. The high molecular weight component, about 130 000-230 000, was the most important 203Pb binding site. Chemical modification of membrane proteins suggested that the carboxyl groups are the major ligand responsible for most of the lead binding. SH groups of the membrane may have a minor role, but amino groups did not appear to affect the lead binding. The binding of lead to erythrocytes was not confined to membranes, over 80% of lead in blood penetrates into erythrocytes and binds to intracellular components. Gel chromatography of the haemolysate showed that over 90% of the 203Pb was attached to the haemoglobin molecule.

High affinity of lead for fetal haemoglobin.

Abstract: In-vitro experiments using 203Pb were performed to identify lead-binding components in human haemoglobin. Sephadex A-50 ion-exchange chromatography of haemolysate showed that different types of haemoglobin had different affinities for lead. For the haemolysate from adults, lead was present in both Hb A (alpha 2 beta 2) and Hb A2 (alpha 2 delta 2), whereas, in the haemolysate from new-born infants, the haemoglobin of fetal origin, Hb F (alpha 2 gamma 2) showed a much greater affinity for 203Pb than the adult haemoglobin Hb A (alpha 2 beta 2), obtained from maternal blood. Analysis of the 203 Pb-labelled haemoglobin suggested that about 82% of 203Pb was in the globin polypeptide. Further analysis with carboxylmethyl (CM) cellulose chromatography indicated that the gamma globin of fetal origin had a higher affinity for 203Pb than the beta globin, whereas alpha globin appeared to be unimportant in lead binding. The results of the different affinities for lead of different Hb types are discussed with regard to the effect of lead upon haemoglobin synthesis.

Placental and stillbirth tissue lead concentrations in occupationally exposed women.

Abstract: The lead values in maternal and infant blood, in placental tissue, and in stillbirth liver, kidney, and rib- and skull-bones have been determined in samples from the Stoke-on-Trent area. The lead values in antenatal blood and placenta increase with occupational exposure; liver and kidney stillbirth lead values are lower than those of much older children and rib-bone lead values from stillbirths were on average three times as high as those from a control group comprised of cot deaths and early infant deaths from accidental causes.

Interaction of atopy and exposure to cotton dust in the bronchoconstrictor response.

Abstract: A survey of 255 workers in four cottonseed crushing mills included a respiratory health questionnaire, allergy skin testing, and measurements of lung function over the Monday working shift. Atopy was defined as having two or more positive weal reactions to common inhalant antigens. Categories of exposure to dust were based on the stage of milling, and one category contained workers with continuous exposure to cotton dust derived from linters, the cotton fibres adherent to cottonseed. Atopy and exposure to dust were found to have significant interaction: large mean declines in FEV1 and FEF 25-75 occurred only in the workers exposed to linter dust who were also atopic. Skin-testing surveys in cotton textile mills have concentrated on specific cotton antigen reactivity and its first-order relations to symptoms. Our results indicate a need to identify atopic workers, and to search for interactions between atopy and other variables that may influence acute changes in expiratory flow rates.

Mortality experience of 161 employees exposed to ethylene dibromide in two production units.

Abstract: Animal studies have indicated the carcinogenic potential of ethylene dibromide (EDB). Examination of the mortality experience of employees exposed to EDB in two production units operated from 1942 to 1969 and from the mid-1920s to 1976, respectively, showed that in the first unit two deaths from malignant neoplasms were observed against 3.6 expected (based on US white male mortality), and in the second unit, where there was potential exposure to various organic bromide products, five deaths from malignant neoplasms (2.2 expected) were observed. Findings of this investigation neither rule out nor establish EDB to be a human carcinogen. Far fewer malignant neoplasms, however, have been observed than might have been expected from a direct extrapolation of data obtained from experiments on animals.

Observations on the lungs of vanadium workers.

Abstract: Out of a total of 79 employees at a factory making vanadium pentoxide from magnetite ore 63 were investigated by respiratory questionnaire, chest radiography, and tests of ventilatory function. The findings were compared with a reference group of 63 men, matched for age (to within two years) and for smoking habit (to within five cigarettes daily) selected from workers at a magnetite ore mine. Analysis of the ventilation tests showed no significant differences between the reference group and the men exposed to low concentrations of vanadium (0.01--0.04 mg/m3), despite previous exposure for an average of 11 years to concentrations in the range of 0.1 to 3.9 mg/m3. Complaint of wheezing was significantly more common among the workers exposed to vanadium than among their referents, but there were no other subjective differences between the groups. Localized fibrotic foci were reported in the radiographs of four reference cases and two men exposed to vanadium, but there were no cases of pneumoconiosis in either group.

Chemical and photoelectron spectrometry analysis of the adsorption of phospholipid model membranes and red blood cell membranes on to chrysotile fibres.

Abstract: A study of the interaction of phospholipid model membranes and red blood cell membranes with UICC A chrysotile fibres using chemical analysis and photoelectron spectrometry showed that the interaction agreed with an adsorption of the membranes on to the chrysotile fibres. The photoelectron spectrometry analysis allowed the statement that phospholipid model membranes are adsorbed as bilayer. Chemical analysis showed that for each milligram of chrysotile the amount of phospholipids adsorbed was about 155 microgram and the available surface for phospholipids was about 38 m/g. It was established that entire membranes were adsorbed. A mechanism for the haemolytic capacity of chrysotile is suggested.

Shift work and health: a critical review of the literature

Abstract: judgements of stress are biased by the \"central tendency ofjudgement\"-what is acceptable depends on what you are used to? But what physician would agree that barbiturates are the best sleeping tablets for people who have to sleep during the day; that years of work overload increases the chances of a coronary thrombosis; that eye-strain and headaches may be due to refracture errors? Though the author is MRC, Cambridge, the publisher is Springfield, Illinois, and the writing is American English: \"gotten,\" \"enlisted man,\" \"traveling,\" \"fiber,\" also \"helping to update\" and \"to bring it into line with present-day thinking.\" But I hope it is successful on both sides of the Atlantic. M K WILLIAMS

Cadmium-induced osteomalacia.

Abstract: The detailed study of a battery plate maker, who had worked with cadmium for 36 years, showed that proteinuria, typical of renal tubular dysfunction, had been observed for 25 years and during the last 12 years of his life the patient had suffered increasing disability from gross bone disease. Several bone biopsies and detailed metabolic studies showed typical severe osteomalacia, which responded well initially to calcium and vitamin D treatment. Examination of the liver both in life and after death showed a gross excess of cadmium. This was also found in the kidneys after death. Previously unreported changes were present in the bones, especially the lumbar vertebrae which were probably more the result of gross bone deformity than cadmium deposition. The mechanism of development of the severe acquired Fanconi syndrome was thought to be a combination of dietary calcium and vitamin D deficiency and impaired calcium absorption from abnormal vitamin D synthesis, related to the cadmium deposition in the renal tubules, which also caused the defect in renal tubular reabsorption.

Effects of urinary volume on urinary concentrations of lead, delta-aminolaevulinic acid, coproporphyrin, creatinine, and total solutes.

Abstract: Urinary volume was related to urinary concentrations of lead, delta-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA), coproporphyrin (COPRO), creatinine, and total solutes in nine lead workers. On a log scale, linear relationships were found between urinary volume and the urinary concentrations. There was a certain difference in the extent of the effects of urinary volume on the urinary concentrations. For example, the concentration of creatinine was more affected by urinary volume than those of lead, ALA, and total solutes among the substances examined: similarly, the concentration of COPRO more than that of ALA. An equation was introduced to eliminate the effects of urinary volume on urinary concentrations. The effects of urinary volume on the concentrations adjusted to urinary specific gravity, osmolality, and creatinine are discussed in the light of these findings.

Angiosarcoma of the liver: annual occurrence and aetiology in Great Britain.

Abstract: The annual occurrence of angiosarcoma of the liver (ASL) in Britain from 1963 to 1977 was studied, including clinical and occupational details for those cases agreed as ASL by a panel of histopathologists. Thirty-five cases (28 men, six women, and one infant girl) were agreed as ASL. The increase in the incidence of ASL observed in recent years was attributable to Thorotrast (thorium dioxide) usage (eight cases) and exposure to vinyl chloride (two cases) in the past. In its clinical presentation and prognosis ASL resembled primary liver carcinoma, except that extrahepatic metastases were found in only eight (23%) cases, and haemoperitoneum ws more common in those cases due to Thorotrast. The results suggested a possible increased risk of ASL in the electrical and plastics fabrication industries, but information on exposure was inadequate to implicate specific chemicals. The clinical features of one case were indicative of arsenical intoxication, but medications in the other patients did not appear to be of aetiological importance.

Effects of exposure to slate dust in North Wales

Abstract: In a study of slate workers in four areas in North Wales 725 workers and ex-workers who had been exposed to slate and to no other dust were seen, together with 530 men from the same area who had never been exposed to any dust. Evidence of pneumoconiosis was found in one-third of the slate workers, and 10% had degrees of pneumoconiosis that would attract compensation (category 2 or higher). The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was high, and there was evidence of an effect of both simple and complicated pneumoconiosis on lung function additional to that of age. There was a high prevalence (40-50%) of radiological lesions suggestive of healed tuberculosis in men aged over 55. Either pneumoconiosis or old tubercular lesions (or both together) could account for the current symptomatology and disability of the men.