The prevalence of chromium allergy in the United States and its implications for setting soil cleanup: a cost-effectiveness case study

The Production of Corporate Research to Manufacture Doubt About the Health Hazards of Products: An Overview of the Exponent Bakelite® Simulation Study

Although corporate sponsorship of research does not necessarily lead to biased results, in some industries, it has resulted in the publication of inaccurate and misleading data. Some companies have hired scientific consulting firms to retrospectively calculate exposures to hazardous products during use that are no longer manufactured or sold. As an example, this paper reviews one such study-a litigation-generated study of Union Carbide Corporation's asbestos-containing product, Bakelite®. This analysis is based on previously secret documents, produced as a result of litigation. The study generated asbestos fiber exposure measurements which resulted in underestimates of actual exposures to create doubt about the hazards associated with manufacture and manipulation of Bakelite®.

Evaluation of toxic metals in biological samples (scalp hair, blood and urine) of steel mill workers by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The determination of toxic metals in the biological samples of human beings is an important clinical screening procedure. This study aimed to assess the possible influence of environmental exposure on production workers (PW) and quality control workers (QCW) of a steel mill, all male subjects aged 25-55 years. In this investigation, the concentrations of Pb, Cd, Ni and Cr were determined in biological samples (blood, urine and scalp hair samples) from these steel mill workers in relation to controlled unexposed healthy subjects of the same age group. After pre-treatment with nitric acid-hydrogen peroxide, the samples were digested via a microwave oven, and for comparison purposes, the same samples were digested by the conventional wet acid digestion method. The samples digested were subjected to graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS).

To assess the reliability of these methods, critical factors, such as detection limit(s), calibration range(s), accuracy and precision, were studied. Quality control for these procedures was established with certified sample of human hair, urine and whole blood. The results indicate that the level of lead, cadmium and nickel in scalp hair, blood and urine samples were significantly higher in both groups of exposed workers (QW and PW) than those of the controls. The possible connection of these elements with the etiology of disease is discussed. The results also show the need for immediate improvements in workplace ventilation and industrial hygiene practices. Toxicology and Industrial Health 2006; 22: 381-393.

Withdrawn: The production of corporate research to manufacture doubt about the health hazards of products: an overview of the Exponent Bakelite™ simulation study

Withdrawal statement Egilman DS. The production of corporate research to manufacture doubt about the health hazards of products: an overview of the Exponent Bakelite™ simulation study. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2016;22(1):18–26. DOI: 10.1080/10773525.2015.1123379. This content has been removed by the publishers.

Contaminated land: can acute exposure be a significant health risk? Two case studies and associated risk assessment methods

Contaminated land risk assessments generally focus on the chronic health risks, arising from long-term, low-level exposure to the contaminants, and a number of risk assessment tools are in routine use. Situations where significant acute risks might be present are not commonly encountered, and methods for risk assessment are less well established. We present two recent case studies from the northwest of England, the first an area of public open space, and the second an occupied school site, with the associated risk assessments.

Modelling of the Cr(VI) transport in typical soils of the North of Portugal

Adsorption of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] onto a loamy sand soil was studied using batch and steady flow tests with contaminant solutions at pH 2, 5 and 7. In all the cases the adsorption of Cr(VI) decreased with increasing pH. The hexavalent chromium speciation and its presence as different oxyanions, according to the solution pH, were the main variables affecting the adsorption process. The influence of the ratio soil/solution concentration was also studied in flow systems at pH 2. Chromium retention increased with the increasing of its concentration in the influent solution. A two-site adsorption model was fitted to the breakthrough curves of hexavalent chromium solutions in order to estimate the Freundlich (k(F)) and Langmuir (S(max)) adsorption parameters, using CXTFIT code. These values were compared to those determined by batch tests and it was concluded that batch tests tended to underestimate these parameters. Nevertheless, they followed the same trend as the parameters determined in opened system, even when the pH of the initial solution was modified.

Dermatological toxicity of hexavalent chromium

Hexavalent chromium causes two types of dermatological toxicities: allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) and skin ulcers. This report reviews the etiology, prevalence, pathology, dose-response, and prognosis of both of these reactions. Reports in the literature indicate that repeated exposure to hexavalent chromium in concentrations of 4-25 ppm can both induce sensitization and elicit chromium ACD. Exposure to 20 ppm hexavalent chromium can cause skin ulcers in nonsensitized people. The prevalence of chromium sensitivity in cement workers, exposed to 10-20 ppm hexavalent chromium for years, is approximately 4-5%. Chromium ACD can be a chronic debilitating disease, perhaps because chromium is ubiquitous in foods and in the environment and is difficult to avoid. Due to the high rates of sensitization in populations chronically exposed to chromium and the chronic nature of chromium ACD, some investigators recommend reducing the hexavalent chromiumconcentrations in consumer products, such as detergents, to less than 5 ppm.

Safety assessment of food-contact paper and board using a battery of short-term toxicity tests: European union BIOSAFEPAPER project

An European Union (EU)-funded project QLK1-CT-2001-00930 (BIOSAFEPAPER) involves the development, validation and intercalibration of a short-term battery of toxicological tests for the safety assessment of food-contact paper and board. Dissemination of the results to industry, legislators (e.g. DG Consumer Protection, DG Enterprises, DG Research), standardization bodies such as CEN, and consumers will create an agreed risk evaluation procedure. The project involves pre-normative research in order to establish a set of in-vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity tests that will be easily adaptable to food-contact fibre-based materials and have endpoints relevant to consumer safety, including sub-lethal cellular events. These tests will be performed on samples representing actual migration conditions from food-contact paper and board with respect to different foodstuffs, and should form an experimental basis for scientifically sound recommendations for a harmonized system of risk evaluation and product testing.

An environmental hazard assessment of low-level dermal exposure to hexavalent chromium in solution among chromium-sensitized volunteers

To evaluate the potential for elicitation of allergic contact dermatitis from contact with standing water in the environment, 26 persons known to be allergic to hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] were exposed to 25 to 29 mg/L Cr(VI) by immersion of one arm for 30 minutes per day on 3 consecutive days in a potassium dichromate bath. Sixteen of the 26 volunteers demonstrated either no or an equivocal response to the Cr(VI) challenge. Ten of the volunteers developed a few papules or vesicles (1 to approximately 15), mild redness, and pruritus on the Cr(VI)-challenged arm. Histopathological examination of the papules revealed spongiosis and perieccrine and perivascular inflammation. The responses were diagnosed as acute perieccrine reactions. It was concluded that exposure to similar concentrations of Cr(VI) in the environment does not pose an allergic contact dermatitis hazard, even to Cr-sensitized persons.