Exposure of medical personnel to methylmethacrylate vapor during percutaneous vertebroplasty.
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The occupational exposure to methylmethacrylate (MMA) vapor during percutaneous vertebroplasty was determined. During five vertebroplasty procedures, air-sampling pumps were attached to medical personnel. MMA vapor levels in the samples were then quantified using gas chromatography. The samples collected yielded MMA vapor levels of less than five parts per million (ppm). The MMA vapor concentrations measured were well below the recommended maximum exposure of 100 ppm over the course of an 8-hour workday. (+info)
Characterization of inhaled alpha-methylstyrene vapor toxicity for B6C3F1 mice and F344 rats.
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alpha-Methylstyrene (AMS) is a chemical intermediate used in the synthesis of specialty polymers and copolymers. Inhalation studies of AMS were conducted because of the lack of toxicity data and the structural similarity of AMS to styrene, a toxic and potentially carcinogenic chemical. Male and female B6C3F1 mice were exposed to 0, 600, 800, or 1000 ppm AMS 6 h/day, 5 days/week, for 12 days. After 1 exposure, 21% (5/24) of female mice were found dead in the 1000-ppm group, 56% (10/18) in the 800-ppm group, and 6% (1/18) in the 600-ppm concentration group. After 12 exposures, relative liver weights were significantly increased and relative spleen weights were significantly decreased in both male and female mice at all concentrations. No microscopic treatment-related lesions were observed. A decrease in hepatic glutathione (GSH) was associated with AMS exposure for 1 and 5 days. Male and female F344 rats were exposed to 0, 600 or 1000 ppm AMS for 12 days. No mortality or sedation occurred in AMS-exposed rats. Relative liver weights were significantly increased in both males and females after 12 exposures to 600 or 1000 ppm. An increased hyaline droplet accumulation was detected in male rats in both concentration groups; no significant microscopic lesions were observed in other tissues examined. Exposure of male and female F344 rats and male NBR rats to 0, 125, 250 or 500 ppm AMS, 6 h/day for 9 days resulted in increased accumulation of hyaline droplets in the renal tubules of male F344 rats in the 250 and 500 ppm concentration groups. Although AMS and styrene are structurally very similar, AMS was considerably less toxic for mice and more toxic for male rats than styrene. (+info)
Quantitative analysis of styrene monomer in polystyrene and foods including some preliminary studies of the uptake and pharmacodynamics of the monomer in rats.
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A variety of food containers, drinking cups and cutlery, fabricated from polystyrene (PS) or polystyrene-related plastic, were analyzed for their styrene monomer content. Samples of yogurt, packaged in PS cups, were similarly analyzed and the leaching of styrene monomer from PS containers by some food simulants was also determined. Blood level studies with rats, dosed with styrene monomer by various routes, illustrated uptake phenomena that were dependent on the dose and route of administration and were also affected by the vehicle used to convey the styrene monomer. (+info)
Dose-dependent fate of vinyl chloride and its possible relationship to oncogenicity in rats.
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Studies on the fate of 14C-labeled vinyl chloride (VC) following oral administration and inhalation exposure in rats demonstrated that the disposition of VC in the body is a function of the dose. More importantly, from the data available, it appears that a correlation exists between doses of VC which cause tumors and those that saturate metabolic or detoxifying pathways. Additional studies characterized the depression of liver non-protein sulfhydryl content (primarily GSH) with the duration and concentration of exposure to VC. The results of these investigations indicate that statistical projections utilizing data collected from rats exposed to high doses of VC are invalid for predicting the hazard of low level exposure, because such projections violate a priori assumption that the dynamics governing the fate of VC in the body are unaltered. (+info)
Health aspects of the curing of synthetic rubbers.
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A commonly used tread rubber formulation was cured in the laboratory under conditions simulating vulcanization in the Bag-O-Matic press. Volatile emissions were collected on charcoal and analyzed by combined GC-mass spectrometry. The compounds identified were either contaminants present in the raw material or reaction products. Some of these compounds were also identified in charcoal tube samples collected in the atmosphere of the industrial operations. Estimates based on the loss of weight of rubber during curing were used to predict airborne concentrations and compared to the concentrations actually found. The literature of the toxicity of raw materials and effluents was reviewed, and no acute or chronic toxicological effects would be anticipated. Information concerning potential carcinogenicity was not available and could not be evaluated. (+info)
Transurethral prostate vaporization using an oval electrode in 82 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
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OBJECTIVE: To present our initial experience in transurethral vaporization of the prostate (TVP) using an oval electrode for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: A total of 82 patients underwent TVP procedures with the oval electrode. The newly designed oval-shaped electrode can work with a High Frequency Electrosurgery Unit. Prostate gland tissue was vaporized through an Fr 24 percutaneous nephroscope transurethrally. The operation procedure was similar to transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) or transurethral laser prostatectomy (TULP). Power setting ranged from 240 W to 320 W. Local vaporization temperature reached 120 degrees C. RESULTS: Urination was recovered in all 82 patients after TVP. Mean post-treatment International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) reduced from 27.10 to 5.05; mean bladder residual urine volume dropped from 147.71 ml to 33.2 ml; and mean urine flow rate (MFR) increased from 4.45 ml/s to 14.57 ml/s (P < 0.01). The initial results of short-term follow-up were excellent. CONCLUSIONS: TVP with the oval electrode is easy to perform and causes less hemorrhage and few complications. It especially benefits elderly and/or critically-ill patients. We believe that TVP with our oval electrode is feasible with low risk. (+info)
Estimation of the dermal absorption of m-xylene vapor in humans using breath sampling and physiologically based pharmacokinetic analysis.
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A physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model, containing a skin compartment, was derived and used to simulate experimentally determined exposure to m-xylene, using human volunteers exposed under controlled conditions. Biological monitoring was conducted by sampling, in exhaled alveolar air and blood, m-xylene and urinary methyl hippuric acid concentrations. The dermal absorption of m-xylene vapor was successfully and conveniently studied using a breath sampling technique, and the contribution to m-xylene body burden from the dermal route of exposure was estimated to be 1.8%. The model was used to investigate the protection afforded by an air-fed, half-face mask. By iteratively changing the dermal exposure concentration, it was possible to predict the ambient concentration that was required to deliver the observed urinary excretion of methylhippuric acid, during and following inhalation exposure to 50 ppm m-xylene vapor. This latter extrapolation demonstrates how physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling can be applied in a practical and occupationally relevant way, and permitted a further step not possible with biological monitoring alone. The ability of the model to extrapolate an ambient exposure concentration was dependent upon human metabolism data, thereby demonstrating the mechanistic toxicological basis of model output. The methyl hydroxylation of m-xylene is catalyzed by the hepatic mixed function oxidase enzyme, cytochrome P450 2E1 and is active in the occupationally relevant, (<100 ppm) exposure range of m-xylene. The use of a scaled-up in vitro maximum rate of metabolism (Vmaxc) in the model also demonstrates the increasingly valuable potential utility of biokinetic data determined using alternative, non-animal methods in human chemical-risk assessment. (+info)
Environmental exposure to volatile organic compounds among workers in Mexico City as assessed by personal monitors and blood concentrations.
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Benzene, an important component in gasoline, is a widely distributed environmental contaminant that has been linked to known health effects in animals and humans, including leukemia. In Mexico City, environmental benzene levels, which may be elevated because of the heavy traffic and the poor emission control devices of older vehicles, may pose a health risk to the population. To assess the potential risk, portable passive monitors and blood concentrations were used to survey three different occupational groups in Mexico City. Passive monitors measured the personal exposure of 45 workers to benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, o-xylene and m-/p-xylene during a work shift. Blood concentrations of the above volatile organic compounds (VOCs), methyl tert-butyl ether, and styrene were measured at the beginning and the end of a work shift. Passive monitors showed significantly higher (p > 0.0001) benzene exposure levels among service station attendants (median = 330 microg/m3; range 130-770) as compared to street vendors (median = 62 microg/m3; range 49-180) and office workers (median = 44 microg/m3, range 32-67). Baseline blood benzene levels (BBLs) for these groups were higher than those reported for similar populations from Western countries (median = 0.63 microg/L, n = 24 for service station attendants; median = 0.30 microg/L, n = 6 for street vendors; and median = 0.17 microgr;g/L, n = 7 for office workers). Nonsmoking office workers who were nonoccupationally exposed to VOCs had BBLs that were more than five times higher than those observed in a nonsmoking U.S. population. BBLs of participants did not increase during the work shift, suggesting that because the participants were chronically exposed to benzene, complex pharmacokinetic mechanisms were involved. Our results highlight the need for more complete studies to assess the potential benefits of setting environmental standards for benzene and other VOCs in Mexico. (+info)