Chromium content of organs of chromate workers with lung cancer

The content of chromium was measured in organs of six chromate workers who had worked in a chromate chemical manufacturing plant, had been exposed to a considerable amount of chromium for over 10 years, and had died of lung cancer. The chromium in the lungs of workers averaged 51.5 micrograms/g (range 24.8-210 micrograms/g), while levels in the lungs of non-exposed controls were 0.07-1.01 micrograms/g. Organs other than the lungs of the workers also had more chromium than those of the controls. Moreover, it was apparent that the metal remained in the lungs long after exposure to chromate had ceased.     

高血压患者血清锌、铜、钙、钴、镉、镁、镍、铬、钛的测定

本文应用直流等离子体原子发射光电直读光谱仪测定了60例正常人,45例高血压患者血清锌、铜、钙、钴、镉、镁、镍、铬、钛含量。结果表明,正常人血清锌19.70±3.75μmol/L(1.2876±0.2457μg/ml),铜17.23±3.48μmol/L(1.0945±0.2213μg/ml),钙2211.09±430.72μmol/L(104.6523±17.2634μg/ml),钴2.87±1.05μmol/L(0.3694±0.0616μg/ml),锅0.44±0.27μmol/L(0.0491±0.0300μg/ml),镁783.71±294.29μmol/L(19.0520±7.1543μg/ml),镍0.42±0.27μmol/L(0.0252±0.0156μg/ml),铬0.28±0.24μmol/L(0.0148±0.0123μg/ml),钛0.82±0.50μmol/L(0.0391±0.0243μg/ml),与文献报道值类似。高血压患者血清锌16.45±2.85μmol/L(1.0754±0.1863μg/ml),钙2308.32±276.29μmol/L(92.5175±11.0738μg/ml),钴2.23±0.62μmol/L(0.1316±0.0368μg/ml)和钛0.61±0.31μmol/L(0.0292±0.0147μg/ml),均低于正常对照组(分别为p<0.001,p<0.05)。镉0.85±0.40μmol/L(0.0951±0.0452μg/ml),镁1022.20±399.91μmol/L (24.8497±9.721 8μg/ml)和镉/锌比值高于正常对照组(P<0.001)。而铜17.58±3.11μmol/L(1.1169±0.1973μg/ml),镍0.39±0.01μmol/L(0.0231±0.0045μg/ml),铬0.31±0.12μmol/L(0.0163±0.0     

Metal concentrations in lung tissue of subjects suffering from lung cancer

Summary Concentrations of nine metals (Fe, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Co, Ni, Pb and Cr) concentrations in lung tissues from 224 lung cancer cases were compared with those in other cases to achieve an understanding of their contribution to the development of lung cancer and the varieties after the development of cancer. Comparisons of metal concentrations in each cell type of lung cancer were also performed. All cases were collected from routine autopsies in Tokyo and Saitama, Japan. The copper concentration in tissue from lung cancers was significantly higher than that in other specimens, although calcium, magnesium, zinc and cobalt concentrations in lung cancers were significantly lower than those in other cases. There were no significant differences in the 99% intervals (excluding extremely high values for occupationally exposed cases) for chromium, nickel and lead concentrations between lung cancers and other cases, although these values were lower in lung cancers. However, in comparisons of men only, the chromium concentration, the degree of lung contamination and the severity of pulmonary emphysema in lung cancer cases were significantly higher than those in other specimens. Moreover, percentages of lung cancer in men at each degree of contamination and each severity of emphysema increased with increasing grades. Thus, this finding could be evidence that the exposure to contaminants other than chromium and nickel in the air had affected the development of lung cancer, except for occupationally exposed individuals. Therefore, almost all chromium and nickel in lung tissue might not deposit in carcinogenic forms such as hexavalent chromium or nickel subsulfide. Comparison of the characteristics in each cell type of lung cancer revealed that calcium and chromium concentrations in lung tissue (not including tumor) or squamous cell carcinomas were higher than those in the other cell types. In small cell carcinomas, calcium magnesium and zinc concentrations were low.     

Lung cancer mortality in the German chromate industry, 1958 to 1998

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a mortality study of two German chromate production facilities and evaluated possible dose-response relationships between hexavalent chromium exposure and lung cancer. METHODS: Mortality was followed-up through 1998 and limited to those employed since each plant converted to a no-lime production process. More than 12,000 urinalysis results of chromium levels were available, as was smoking information. RESULTS: All-cause mortality indicated a healthy worker effect (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.67-0.96); however, lung cancers appeared to be increased (SMR = 1.48, 95% CI = 0.93-2.25). No clear dose-response was found in stratified analyses by duration of employment and time since hire. On the basis of urinary chromium data, lung cancer risk was elevated only in the highest exposure group (SMR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.08-3.65). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest a possible threshold effect of occupational hexavalent chromium exposure on lung cancer.     

Lung cancer and internal lung doses among plutonium workers at the Rocky Flats Plant: a case-control study

The authors conducted a nested case-control study of the association between lung cancer mortality and cumulative internal lung doses among a cohort of workers employed at the Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado from 1951 to 1989. Cases (n = 180) were individually matched with controls (n = 720) on age, sex, and birth year. Annual doses to the lung from plutonium, americium, and uranium isotopes were calculated for each worker with an internal dosimetry model. Lung cancer risk was elevated among workers with cumulative internal lung doses of more than 400 mSv in several different analytical models. The dose-response relation was not consistent at high doses. Restricting analysis to those employed for 15-25 years produced a statistically significant linear trend with dose (chi-square = 67.2, p < 0.001), suggesting a strong healthy worker survivor effect. The association between age at first internal lung dose and lung cancer mortality was statistically significant (odds ratio = 1.05, 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.10). No associations were found between lung cancer mortality and cumulative external penetrating radiation dose or cumulative exposures to asbestos, beryllium, hexavalent chromium, or nickel.     

Risk of lung cancer among masons in Iceland.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the risk of gastrointestinal cancer and lung cancer in a cohort of masons exposed to cement and hexavalent chromium by a follow up in the Icelandic Cancer Registry. METHODS: The cohort, 1172 men, was defined as those who had served their apprenticeship and were fully licensed as masons (cement finishers) in Iceland, were born after 1880 and were alive in 1955. The men were exposed to an aerosol of wet concrete, particularly when spraying. According to the analyses of urinary chromium the masons were exposed to hexavalent chromium. A computer file on masons was record linked to the Cancer Registry by making use of the personal identification numbers. Expected cancer incidence was calculated on the basis of number of person-years for each five-year age category during the individual calendar years of the study period and multiplied by the specific incidence for cause and calendar year for men in Iceland provided by the Cancer Registry. RESULTS: The standardised incidence ratio (SIR) for all cancers was 1.13 in the total cohort and 1.33 when allowance was made for 30 years to elapse before starting to count person years of risk. The risk for gastrointestinal cancers was not increased. The SIR for lung cancer was 1.69 in the total cohort and 1.77 when a lag of 30 years was included. The SIR for lung cancer among those born in 1920 or later was 1.86. Results from a postal questionnaire showed that fewer masons had never smoked and more masons had stopped smoking than the controls from the general population. CONCLUSION: The increased risk of lung cancer among the masons may be related to their work. The exposure information, although limited, supports the suggestion that hexavalent chromium in the cement may be the causal link, as information on the smoking habits indicate that the control for this important possible confounder is adequate.     

实验性动脉粥样硬化对血清铜、锌、铬、锰、硒的影响

本研究观察高胆固醇血症和实验性动脉粥样硬化形成对必需微量元素Cu、Zn、Cr、Mn、Se代谢的影响。将22只家兔随机分为动脉粥样硬化造型组和对照组。造型组每只家兔每天喂胆固醇0.5g,该组在形成高胆固醇血症和动脉粥样硬化的4个月过程中,血清Cu均值逐渐升高,Zn逐渐降低,Ca/Zn比值逐渐增大,前后对比差异显著。对照组血清Cu、Zn无显著变化。两组的血清Cu、Zn同次测定值对比有显著或高度显著差异。血清Cr、Mn、Se均无显著变化。相关性检验证实,造型组血清胆固醇均值与血清Ca均值无显著相关(P>0.5),而与血清Zn均值呈高度负相关(P<0.01)。结果表明,在形成实验性动脉粥样硬化的过程中,高胆固醇食物及高胆固醇血症可引起血清Zn降低,又通过锌铜拮抗,使血清Cu升高。     

Respiratory health effects of long-term exposure to different chromium species in stainless steel production

The aim of this study was to determine whether occupational exposure to chromite, trivalent chromium (Cr(3+)) or hexavalent chromium (Cr(6+)) causes respiratory diseases, an excess of respiratory symptoms, a decrease in pulmonary function or signs of pneumoconiosis among workers in stainless steel production. Altogether, 203 exposed workers and 81 referents with an average employment of 23 years were investigated for indicators of respiratory health on two occasions, in 1993 and in 1998. Data collection with a self-administered questionnaire, flow volume spirometry, measurement of diffusing capacity, chest radiography and laboratory tests were carried out by a mobile research unit. Exposure to different chromium species and other metals was monitored regularly and studied separately. No adverse respiratory health effects were observed in the group exposed to Cr(6+), either in comparison with the control group in the first cross-sectional study or during the additional 5 year follow-up. Among the Cr (3+) exposed people, the production of phlegm, shortness of breath and breathlessness on exertion were significantly more frequent than in the control group, but the frequency of the symptoms did not increase during the follow-up; no differences were observed in the lung function tests and the radiographic findings did not progress. In the chromite group, the prevalence of breathlessness on exertion was higher than in the control group. However, in the follow-up, the occurrence of symptoms did not differ from 1993 to 1998. In the first study, most parameters of lung function were lower among the smokers in the chromite group than among the smoking controls, but in 1998 the difference was less marked. An average exposure time of 23 years in modern ferrochromium and stainless steel production and low exposure to dusts and fumes containing Cr(6+), Cr(3+), nickel and molybdenum do not lead to respiratory changes detectable by lung function tests or radiography. The workers exposed to Cr(3+) had more respiratory symptoms than those in the control group. The workers in the chromite mine had lower lung function test results than the control group due to earlier exposure to higher dust concentrations.     

维生素C和维生素E对六价铬致突变性影响的研究

以小鼠骨髓细胞染色体畸变率和睾丸细胞染色体畸变率为指标，研究了维生素Ｃ、维生素Ｅ及维生素Ｃ与维生素Ｅ协同作用对六价铬致突变性的影响。结果表明，大剂量的维生素Ｃ对六价铬有抗突变作用，维生素Ｅ对六价铬致突变作用无明显影响，维生素Ｃ与维生素Ｅ协同作用比单纯给维生素Ｃ抗六价铬诱变作用增强。     

Interactions of trace metals in mouse and rat tissues; zinc, chromium, copper, and manganese with 13 other elements.

Tissues of rats and mice fed a nonessential metal in drinking water for life were analyzed for the essential metals chromium, copper, manganese and zinc. The study involved 505 rats and 843 mice. Livers, lungs, hearts, kidneys and spleens were pooled in groups according to age at death, averaging 5 for rats and 8 for mice, in order to provide adequate sample weight. Copper was significantly higher in livers of rats fed tin, germanium, niobium and zirconium than in controls. Similarly, niobium was associated with deposition of manganese in heart and zinc deposition in liver. Chromium levels were depressed in heart, kidney and spleen by germanium. In mice the greatest effects occurred when indium and rhodium were fed, all four essential trace metals exhibiting raised levels principally in kidney but also in heart and spleen. Chromium levels were raised in all organs but heart when hexavalent chromium was fed. From these data it is apparent that the ingestion of a nonessential metal can enhance the retention of an essential trace metal, perhaps thus avoiding toxicity from the nonessential one.     

心脏病患者血清铜、锌、锰、铬、硒含量测定的临床意义

作者应用原子吸收光谱法和原子荧光光谱法测定了人血清铜、锌、锰、铬、及全血硒。测定对象分正常对照(40例),冠心病(36例),风湿性心脏瓣膜病(27例),扩张型心肌病(34例)4组。结果表明,正常人平均血铜值1.227±0.213μg/ml,锌1.0±0.149μg/ml,铬8.945±5.464ng/ml,锰12.163±4.21ng/ml,硒0.0625±0.03μg/ml,与文献报道值接近。其余三组心脏病人血铜值(1.448μg/ml,1.740μg/ml、1.746μg/ml)均显著升高(P<<0.001),血锌在冠心病、风心病组降低(P<0.01),铬三组无变化,锰仅在风心病组降低(P<0.01),硒在冠心病组增高(P<0.05),在扩张型心肌病组则显著降低(P<0.0001)。急性心肌梗塞(13例),血铜升高,而锌降低;心衰时血铜显著升高。以上变化对三种心脏病及急性心肌梗塞的诊断与鉴別、判断心脏的功能可能有一定意义。特别是扩张型心肌病呈现出特异性血硒降低,可能是该病的致病因素之一。     

Continuing exposure to hexavalent chromium,a known lung carcinogen: an analysis of OSHA compliance inspections, 1990-2000

BACKGROUND: Hexavalent chromium is widely recognized to be a lung carcinogen. However, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has failed to reduce the permissible exposure limit (PEL), despite having acknowledged in 1994 that the current limit is too high. In 1993, Public Citizen and the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) petitioned to lower the PEL from the current 100 microg/m(3) to 0.5 microg/m(3) as an 8-hr time-weighted average (TWA). METHODS: To assess industry compliance with the current PEL, and to determine the feasibility of achieving the proposed lower limit of 0.5 microg/m(3), we conducted a secondary data analysis of OSHA's Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) database. This database contains 813 measurements of hexavalent chromium exposure from inspections performed during the years 1990-2000. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant decline in the annual number of measurements over the study period from 127 in 1990 to 67 in 2000 (F = 0.0009; linear regression). The median TWA measurement was 10 microg/m(3) (range: 0.01-13,960 microg/m(3)) and the median ceiling measurement was 40.5 microg/m(3) (range: 0.25-25,000 microg/m(3)). Neither median TWA nor median ceiling exposures (if hexavalent chromium was detected) declined significantly during the study period (F = 0.065 and 0.57, respectively). Overall, 13.7% of TWA measurements were at or below the Public Citizen/PACE proposed standard; 65.0% were between the Public Citizen/PACE proposal and the current OSHA PEL; and 21.3% exceeded the OSHA PEL. Compared to OSHA measurements, state measurements were less likely to detect hexavalent chromium (40.2% vs. 52.1%; P = 0.0007; chi-square) and less likely to issue any citation (9.3% vs. 19.1%; P = 0.0003), including citations for overexposure if the exposure exceeded the PEL (54.8% vs. 78.8%; P = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: U.S. workers continue to be exposed to dangerously high hexavalent chromium levels, but low exposure levels were found in some industries. Further investigations should examine whether state plans provide weaker enforcement than federal OSHA.     

维生素C对六价铬毒性影响的研究

大剂量六价铬化物（Ｋ２Ｃｒ２Ｏ７）可引起大鼠生长发育障碍，肝肾功能及组织细胞损伤，给六价铬化物同时给大剂量维生素Ｃ，则大鼠毒性反应较轻，说明大剂量维生素Ｃ对六价铬有解毒作用。     

2型糖尿病患者血清微量元素、血糖及体成分相关性分析

目的了解糖尿病患者与正常人群血清微量元素含量的差异,并探讨微量元素与糖尿病患者血糖、人体成分测量指标之间的关系。方法随机选取72名糖尿病患者作为病例组,64名健康体检者作为对照组。分别测量病例组和对照组的血清锌、硒、锰、镉、铁、铅、铜、镍、钴、锂、铬含量,铜锌比值,比较两组间差异,并与血糖及蛋白质含量、矿物质含量、脂肪含量、瘦体重、腰围、臀围等人体成分指标进行相关性分析。结果2型糖尿病患者血清锌、硒、铬含量显著低于对照组(P<0.05),血清铜含量则显著高于对照组(P<0.05),其他元素差异没有显著性。血清锌与血糖呈微弱负相关,铜与血糖呈正相关(P<0.01)。铜与腰围呈微弱正相关(P<0.01),锰与蛋白质含量、矿物质含量、臀围均呈微弱负相关(P<0.05)。结论纠正2型糖尿病患者体内存在着的微量元素代谢紊乱,对于糖尿病的治疗及预防并发症有重要价值。     

铜染毒白兔血液及组织器官微量元素分布情况的研究

系统研究了铜染毒对大耳白兔的生长情况及血液、组织器官中微量元素分布情况的影响。实验分为空白组和染毒组,每日清晨在染毒组动物水源中加入40mg的铜,连续饲喂7周。结果表明,染毒组动物体重明显下降,两组动物体重增长率呈交替上升。染毒组动物血液及各组织器官中铜含量明显上升,其中肝脏、肠、肾脏和血清中呈极显著性变化,由于元素交互作用影响,锌、铬、锰和硒等其他微量元素也发生明显改变。因此,单一元素染毒将引起生命体内整个微量元素系统的变化。     

Exposure to hexavalent chromium does not increase 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine levels in Korean chromate pigment workers.

This study was performed to determine whether chromium exposure increased 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine levels in respiratory epithelial and white blood cells of chromate pigment workers. The subjects of this study were 22 chromium pigment workers and 16 controls in a chromate pigments factory. To estimate the level of exposure, hexavalent chromium concentrations in the factory air were measured. Chrominum concentrations of venous blood and spot urine, and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine levels in DNA extracted from sputum and white blood cells were determined. Correlation coefficients were calculated between them and their statistical significance was tested. Hexavalent chromium concentration in the factory air ranged from below limit of detection to 0.5150 mg/m3. Chromium levels in blood and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine levels in DNA extracted from venous blood and sputum were not statistically different between the two groups. Urine chromium level was significantly higher among workers. Among the correlation coefficients between blood chromium concentration, urine chromium concentration, blood 8-OH-dG level, and sputum 8-OH-dG level, none was statistically significant for workers, controls, and total subjects. Duration of employment did not show any significant correlation with those four variables, either. These results suggest that neither the hydroxyl radical nor 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine is formed by the reduction of hexavalent chromium, or that one or both of these is formed and then effectively removed by oxygen free radical scavengers or 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine repair enzymes. Since increased exposure to hexavalent chromium did not result in increased 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine levels, it is unlikely that hexavalent chromium induces lung cancer through 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine formation.     

2018年呼和浩特市饮用水中重金属污染物的健康风险评价

目的 评价呼和浩特市地区饮用水中重金属对健康的潜在危害。方法 对呼和浩特市2018年饮用水中的10种重金属进行检测,并应用美国国家环境保护署推荐的健康风险评价模型,对重金属通过饮水途径所引起的健康风险做出评价。结果 440个样品中,砷合格率93.86 %,铁合格率99.55 %,锰合格率99.09 %,其他金属全部合格。重金属的非致癌总风险为5.8942×10-9,致癌总风险为4.4988×10-5,总的健康风险为4.4994 ×10-5,金属致癌的风险排序为:铬(六价）>镉>砷,非致癌风险最高的金属为:砷>铜>铬（六价）。呼和浩特市农村水的致癌总风险和非致癌总风险均高于城市水（Z=-3.323,P=0.001;Z=-4.811,P<0.0001）,出厂水、二次供水和末梢水致癌总风险间存在显著差异（Z=12.82,P=0.002）;丰水期的健康总风险高于枯水期（Z=-3.122,P=0.002）;丰水期的致癌总风险高于枯水期（Z=-3.939,P<0.0001）。结论 呼和浩特市2018年致癌健康风险超过EPA评价标准,有一定风险,非致癌健康风险远低于评价标准。     

Chromium as an industrial carcinogen: Part I

Successive cohorts by year of hire at the same chromate plant (1931-1932, 1933-1934, 1935-1937) and the combined cohort (1931-1937) of 332 employees were followed through 1993. A total of 283 deaths (85%) of the total cohort were identified. In the combined cohort (1931-1937), 66 lung cancers were found, constituting 23.3% of all deaths and 64.7% of all cancers. The lung cancer mortality rates are shown over a span of decades, from 15 years to over 55 years, with progressive rise. Observations of lung cancer identified, employees not found, and cancer risk by age at hire are cited. Lung cancer death rates increased by gradient level of exposure to insoluble (trivalent) chromium and to soluble (hexavalent) chromium, with a pattern of increase by total chromium. Age-specific death rates for lung cancer according to the same gradient exposure range for total, insoluble, and soluble chromium are presented. The potential cancer risk extends to all forms of chromium and to total chromium. Am. J. Ind. Med. 31:129–139, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

糖尿病病人和健康人的血铬、尿铬含量

对83名非胰岛素依赖型糖尿病病人及24名健康人进行了血、尿铬测定。结果显示糖尿病病人的空腹血铬(39.9±17.4ppb)和血铬面积(128.6±48.5ppb/b)明显低于健康人(80.9±28.5ppb、270.6±88.4ppb/h)(P<<0.001),提示糖尿病病人可能缺铬。健康男性于馒头试验后60、120、180分钟时的血铬值明显高于空腹血铬值,而健康女性和糖尿病病人无明显波动,提示健康男性对铬的反应力较好。血铬和尿铬值随年令增大而增加,表现出老年人体内铬库对铬的释放、排泄增快。糖尿病病人的血铬与病程成反比,尿铬与病情成正比。     

Respiratory impairment and metal exposure in a group of 68 industrial welders

A group of 68 currently employed welders were examined who were exposed to welding fumes either for the whole or for at least half the working day and who used at least two welding processes, which were mainly manual metal arc welding and metal active gas welding, but also metal and tungsten inert gas welding, or oxyacetylene welding. The welders were classified into 3 groups according to the class of materials used, i.e.: 1) only mild and stainless steel; 2) mild and stainless steel and other metals; 3) only other metals. Chronic bronchitis symptoms were observed in 22% of the subjects; signs of suspected radiological fibrosis were present in 18%, initial signs of radiological fibrosis in 4%. Small airway disease was prevalent in the smokers (28 smokers versus 2 nonsmokers); one worker had an obstructive syndrome and another a restrictive syndrome (both were smokers). There was a good correlation between years of exposure and: 1) MEF25 in non-smokers; 2) urinary cobalt in the whole group. There was also a correlation between smoking and FEV1, MEF50, MEF25, PaO2 and urinary cadmium. Serum copper was higher in workers exposed full time than in those exposed part time. Urinary chromium and cobalt and serum copper were high in steel welders, lower in welders using steel and other metals and low in welders using other metals. Urinary chromium was similar in smokers and non-smokers. Serum zinc was found to be of little use for biological monitoring of welders. Urinary chromium was studied for one week in 10 full-time exposed steel welders. The difference between the chromium values at the end of the workshift and those at the beginning was small (low current exposure); the chromium values at the end of the workshift were not uniform in the whole group (different past exposure levels).