Application of the adverse outcome pathway framework to predict the toxicity of chemicals in the semiconductor manufacturing industry

Background

To solve current issues using big data, solve current issues related to the semiconductor and electronics industry, I tried to establish the data for each toxicity mechanism for adverse outcome pathway (AOP) for the exposure.

Objective

I planned to increase the efficiency of human hazard assessment by searching, analyzing, and linking test data on the relationship between key events occurred at each level, which are the biological targets of chemicals in semiconductor manufacturing.

Results

It was found that 48 kinds of chemicals had 11 AOPs, while 103 chemicals had multiple AOPs, and 26 had case evidence. As a result of AOP analysis, it was found that a total of 320 chemicals had 42 AOPs, and 190 major chemicals corresponded to 11 AOPs. It was found necessary to develop a complex AOP and secure an (inhalation or dermal) exposure scenario for combined exposure at work. As a comparative search (41 out of 190 chemicals) of biomarkers specific to occupational diseases, 12 biomarkers were found to be related to breast cancer. The AOPs for 50 specific chemicals were presented, together with occupational disease-specific AOPs and key events relationship from 50 chemicals, and taxonomic classification for each AOP analysis could be found. With a comparative search, 41 out of 190 chemicals were associated with specific biomarkers for occupational diseases, and 12 mRNA or protein biomarkers were found to be related to breast cancer by cross-validation with the attached Table 24 of the Enforcement Regulations of the OSHAct and the CTD.

Conclusion

The mechanism of occupational diseases caused by chemicals was presented, together with pathological preventions. I believe that a strategy is needed to expand the target organization for each chemical by linking with activities, such as work environment measurement, and cooperating with screening items and methods suitable for toxic chemicals, like AOP tools.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13273-021-00139-4.

COVID-19 pandemic and the protection of workers’ health from disinfectant chemicals

Objective and methods

This study examines the protection of workers from the “COVID-19” pandemic, especially healthcare workers, disinfection workers, and future prospects in occupational health. To summarize this concept, I searched the major websites using the key terms “COVID-19,” “coronavirus,” “pandemic,” “workers’ health,” and “quarantine” or “disinfection.”

Results and conclusion

The use of disinfectants is recognized to be effective in preventing viruses, but this is also increasing the need to solve problems, such as the side effects caused by the increase in disinfectant use. This paper presents the precautions for safer use of chemicals handled by workers during quarantine and disinfection and proposes policy suggestions. The COVID-19 pandemic will have long-lasting effects on workers. Syndromic methods for monitoring illness outside of healthcare settings can be useful adjuncts to conventional disease reporting. From these results, it is important that the precautions for chemicals’ safety handled by workers during quarantine and disinfection as well as policy suggestions for quarantine and disinfection workers are very important to protect workers.

Adverse outcome pathways for chemical toxicity and their applications to workers' health: a literature review

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS

Various papers related to the application of adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) for the prevention of occupational disease were reviewed. The Internet was used as the primary tool to search for the necessary research data and information, using such online resources as Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Scopus, NDSL, and PubMed. The key search terms were "adverse outcome pathway," "toxicology," "risk assessment," "human," "worker," "occupational safety and health," and so on.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The aim of this paper is to explain the use of AOP for the understanding of chemical toxicity as a conceptual means and to predict the toxic mechanism. The tools of AOP have emerged as a forward-looking alternative to the existing chemical risk assessment paradigm. AOP is being applied to the assessment of acute toxicity and to chronic toxic chemicals in the workplace. Not only can it lead to breakthroughs in occupational and environmental cancer prevention, it is also widely used in chemical risk assessment and has led to breakthroughs in the prevention of occupational disease in the workplace.

In silico prediction of toxicity and its applications for chemicals at work

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS

This study reviewed the concept of in silico prediction of chemical toxicity for prevention of occupational cancer and future prospects in workers' health. In this review, a new approach to determine the credibility of in silico predictions with raw data is explored, and the method of determining the confidence level of evaluation based on the credibility of data is discussed. I searched various papers and books related to the in silico prediction of chemical toxicity and carcinogenicity. The intention was to utilize the most recent reports after 2015 regarding in silico prediction.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The application of in silico methods is increasing with the prediction of toxic risks to human and the environment. The various toxic effects of industrial chemicals have triggered the recognition of the importance of using a combination of in silico models in the risk assessments. In silico occupational exposure models, industrial accidents, and occupational cancers are effectively managed and chemicals evaluated. It is important to identify and manage hazardous substances proactively through the rigorous evaluation of chemicals.

Worker Safety in the Rare Earth Elements Recycling Process From the Review of Toxicity and Issues

Although the rare earth elements (REEs) recycling industry is expected to increase worldwide in high-tech industry, regulations for worker safety have yet to be established. This study was conducted to understand the potential hazard/risk of REE recycling and to support the establishment of regulations or standards. We review the extensive literature on the toxicology, occupational safety, and health issues, and epidemiological surveys related to the REEs, and propose suitable management measures. REE recycling has four key steps such as collection, dismantling, separation, and processing. In these processes, hazardous substances, such as REEs-containing dust, metals, and chemicals, were used or occurred, including the risk of ignition and explosion, and the workers can be easily exposed to them. In addition, skin irritation and toxicities for respiratory, nervous, and cardiovascular systems with the liver toxicity were reported; however, more supplementary data are needed, owing to incompleteness. Therefore, monitoring systems concerning health, environmental impacts, and safety need to be established, based on additional research studies. It is also necessary to develop innovative and environment-friendly recycling technologies, analytical methods, and biomarkers with government support. Through these efforts, the occupational safety and health status will be improved, along with the establishment of advanced REE recycling industry.

Non-invasive quantification of cell-free DNA mutations in plasma during lung tumor progression in mice

Testing carcinogenicity caused by chemicals requires a noninvasive tool that can be used before autopsy because autopsy takes a long time. We investigated whether non-small cell lung cancer related gene mutations could be detected in cell-free DNA in plasma by Insight OncoTM next-generation sequencing, which is a fast and sensitive method. Adenoma formation was confirmed in urethane-injected 17-week-old mice. Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms, such as Cdkn2a and Vegfa, were selected. Mutant-enriched Insight OncoTM NGS and normal NGS were performed on genomic DNA. The results demonstrate that Insight OncoTM NGS detected Cdkn2a and Vegfa SNPs at 0.05%. The sensitivity of Insight OncoTM NGS was twice higher than that of normal NGS. In this analysis, the Cdkn2a gene mutation was detected not only in two genomic DNA samples of lung tissue from the 11th week of urethane injection but also in two cell-free DNA samples. In addition, the Vegfa gene mutation was detected not only in three genomic DNA samples of lung tissue of injection but also in one cell-free DNA sample, showing 33% concordance. Our results confirm that Insight OncoTM NGS is a rapid and sensitive detection method that enables lung cancer-associated gene mutations to be detected in cell-free DNA before the end of the carcinogenicity test.

Reproductive Toxic Chemicals at Work and Efforts to Protect Workers' Health: A Literature Review

A huge number of chemicals are produced and used in the world, and some of them can have negative effects on the reproductive health of workers. To date, most chemicals and work environments have not been studied for their potential to have damaging effects on the workers' reproductive system. Because of the lack of information, many workers may not be aware that such problems can be related to occupational exposures. Newly industrialized countries such as Republic of Korea have rapidly amassed chemicals and other toxicants that pose health hazards, especially to the reproductive systems of workers. This literature review provides an overview of peer-reviewed literature regarding the teratogenic impact and need for safe handling of chemicals. Literature searches were performed using PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. Search strategies were narrowed based on author expertise and 100 articles were chosen for detailed analysis. A total of 47 articles met prespecified inclusion criteria. The majority of papers contained studies that were descriptive in nature with respect to the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and keywords: “reproductive and heath or hazard and/or workplace or workers or occupations.” In the absence of complete information about the safe occupational handling of chemicals in Republic of Korea (other than a material safety data sheet), this review serves as a valuable reference for identifying and remedying potential gaps in relevant regulations. The review also proposes other public health actions including hazard surveillance and primary prevention activities such as reduction, substitution, ventilation, as well as protective equipment.

Quantitative Analysis of Exosomes From Murine Lung Cancer Cells by Flow Cytometry

In vivo studies regarding biochemical, molecular biological, and histopathological changes in cancer tissues have been widely performed by the administration of carcinogens in rodents. In these established methods, dissection of the animal following sacrifice must be carried out. Exosomes are cell-derived vesicles that are present in all body fluids and these vesicles have specific roles within cells. Thus, much attention is given to the clinical application of exosomes that can possibly be used for prediction and therapy and as biomarkers related to cancer. To develop a new tool for monitoring in vivo genetic alterations, as a result of carcinogenesis, without the need for frequent euthanasia, we performed quantitative measurement of exosomes in Mlg2908 murine lung fibroblasts and LA-4 and KLN 205 murine lung cancer cells using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. We detected an increase in CD63-specific exosomes in LA-4 lung cancer cells. This result is able to be applied to the classification of cancer-specific proteins and miRNA as diagnostic markers.

A Review on Mutagenicity Testing for Hazard Classification of Chemicals at Work: Focusing on in vivo Micronucleus Test for Allyl Chloride

Chemical mutagenicity is a major hazard that is important to workers' health. Despite the use of large amounts of allyl chloride, the available mutagenicity data for this chemical remains controversial. To clarify the mutagenicity of allyl chloride and because a micronucleus (MN) test had not yet been conducted, we screened for MN induction by using male ICR mice bone marrow cells. The test results indicated that this chemical is not mutagenic under the test conditions. In this paper, the regulatory test battery and several assay combinations used to determine the genotoxic potential of chemicals in the workplace have been described. Further application of these assays may prove useful in future development strategies of hazard evaluations of industrial chemicals. This study also should help to improve the testing of this chemical by commonly used mutagenicity testing methods and investigations on the underlying mechanisms and could be applicable for workers' health.

Mutagenicity of octane and tetrasodium pyrophosphate in bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) test

We investigated the genotoxicities or mutagenicities of 2 chemicals (octane and tetrasodium pyrophosphate) with limited toxicological data in spite of their common usage based on Ames reverse mutation test. In this test, treatment of 2 chemicals at each five dose did not induce mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1537, and in Escherichia coli WP2uvrA with and without metabolic activation. These results indicate that 2 chemicals do not have mutagenic potentials under the conditions examined in each study. Despite these results, it can affect by inducing inhalation, skin or eye contact, ingestion, and have affected central nervous system as a target organ. It is thus necessary to prepare the local exhaust system and personal protective equipments. Based on this study, we suggest that future studies should be directed toward chronic inhalation, carcinogenic test and so on.

Observation of graphene bubbles and effective mass transport under graphene films

Mechanically exfoliated graphene mounted on a SiO2/Si substrate was subjected to HF/H(2)O etching or irradiation by energetic protons. In both cases gas was released from the SiO2 and accumulated at the graphene/SiO2 interface resulting in the formation of "bubbles" in the graphene sheet. Formation of these "bubbles" demonstrates the robust nature of single layer graphene membranes, which are capable of containing mesoscopic volumes of gas. In addition, effective mass transport at the graphene/SiO2 interface has been observed.