RESUMEN
An extended follow-up from 1977-84 was achieved in a cohort of 11,567 nickel workers engaged in mining, milling and smelting originally studied from 1950-76. Exposure data were incorporated into the analysis. One nasal cancer occurred. The lung cancer Standardized Mortality Ratio beyond 15 years from first exposure was significantly high overall (128) and in miners (153). However, detailed analyses by era of first mining and duration of mining, as well as cumulative exposure to different nickel species, did not appear consistent with an occupational etiology since significant trends were not observed. At the levels of exposure incurred, large increases in lung and nasal cancer, observed in nickel refineries elsewhere, did not occur.
Asunto(s)
Níquel/efectos adversos , Enfermedades Profesionales/mortalidad , Monitoreo del Ambiente , Estudios de Seguimiento , Humanos , Masculino , Metalurgia , Minería , Enfermedades Profesionales/inducido químicamenteRESUMEN
Ten nickel oxides and nickel-copper oxides, which all contained NiO (bunsenite) as the predominant crystalline phase, were assayed as follows: in vitro dissolution tests in water and body fluids; in vitro phagocytosis tests in Chinese hamster ovary and C3H-10T1/2 cells; morphological transformation and cytotoxicity tests in cultured Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cells; erythropoiesis stimulation assay by intrarenal administration to Fischer-344 rats; and scoring the renal histopathologic responses in rats killed 3 months post-injection. The test compounds differed substantially in their biological effects when tested in the various experimental systems. Based upon highly significant concordance of ranked results in the assays (P less than 0.001), six colligative biological attributes of the compounds were identified: (i) dissolution half-times in rat serum and renal cytosol; (ii) phagocytosis by C3H-10T1/2 cells; (iii) morphological transformation of SHE cells; (iv) erythropoiesis stimulation in rats; (v) induction of tubular hyperplasia in rat kidneys; and (vi) induction of arteriosclerosis in rat kidneys. Strong rank correlation (P less than 0.01) between results of the cell transformation and erythropoiesis stimulation assays is especially notable, since the compounds were tested by blind protocols in independent laboratories. The presence of high surface area and demonstrable Ni(III) were two physicochemical characteristics that were associated with the greatest biological effects of nickel oxides.