scholarly journals Risk assessment of effects of cadmium on human health (IUPAC Technical Report)

2018 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnar F. Nordberg ◽  
Alfred Bernard ◽  
Gary L. Diamond ◽  
John H. Duffus ◽  
Paul Illing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Dose Response ◽  
Safety Margin ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Cadmium Exposure ◽  
Kidney Cortex ◽  
Exposure Level ◽  
Urine Cadmium

AbstractChemistry and Human Health, Division VII of the International Union on Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), provides guidance on risk assessment methodology and, as appropriate, assessment of risks to human health from chemicals of exceptional toxicity. The aim of this document is to describe dose-response relationships for the health effects of low-level exposure to cadmium, in particular, with an emphasis on causation. The term “cadmium” in this document includes all chemical species of cadmium, as well as those in cadmium compounds. Diet is the main source of cadmium exposure in the general population. Smokers and workers in cadmium industries have additional exposure. Adverse effects have been shown in populations with high industrial or environmental exposures. Epidemiological studies in general populations have also reported statistically significant associations with a number of adverse health effects at low exposures. Cadmium is recognized as a human carcinogen, a classification mainly based on occupational studies of lung cancer. Other cancers have been reported, but dose-response relationships cannot be defined. Cardiovascular disease has been associated with cadmium exposure in recent epidemiological studies, but more evidence is needed in order to establish causality. Adequate evidence of dose-response relationships is available for kidney effects. There is a relationship between cadmium exposure and kidney effects in terms of low molecular mass (LMM) proteinuria. Long-term cadmium exposures with urine cadmium of 2 nmol mmol−1creatinine cause such effects in a susceptible part of the population. Higher exposures result in increases in the size of these effects. This assessment is supported by toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic (TKTD) modelling. Associations between urine cadmium lower than 2 nmol mmol−1creatinine and LMM proteinuria are influenced by confounding by co-excretion of cadmium with protein. A number of epidemiological studies, including some on low exposures, have reported statistically significant associations between cadmium exposure and bone demineralization and fracture risk. Exposures leading to urine cadmium of 5 nmol mmol−1creatinine and more increase the risk of bone effects. Similar associations at much lower urine cadmium levels have been reported. However, complexities in the cause and effect relationship mean that a no-effect level cannot be defined. LMM proteinuria was selected as the critical effect for cadmium, thus identifying the kidney cortex as the critical organ, although bone effects may occur at exposure levels similar to those giving rise to kidney effects. To avoid these effects, population exposures should not exceed that resulting in cadmium values in urine of more than 2 nmol mmol−1creatinine. As cadmium is carcinogenic, a ‘safe’ exposure level cannot be defined. We therefore recommend that cadmium exposures be kept as low as possible. Because the safety margin for toxic effects in kidney and bone is small, or non-existent, in many populations around the world, there is a need to reduce cadmium pollution globally.

Chemical-based risk assessment and in vitro models of human health effects induced by organic pollutants in soils from the Olona valley

2013 ◽  
Vol 463-464 ◽  
pp. 790-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Baderna ◽  
Andrea Colombo ◽  
Giorgia Amodei ◽  
Stefano Cantù ◽  
Federico Teoldi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Organic Pollutants ◽  
In Vitro Models ◽  
Human Health Effects

scholarly journals Cancer risk assessment: Optimizing human health through linear dose–response models

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 137-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward J. Calabrese ◽  
Dima Yazji Shamoun ◽  
Jaap C. Hanekamp
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Cancer Risk ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Dose Response ◽  
Cancer Risk Assessment ◽  
Response Models ◽  
Linear Dose

Human health risk assessment of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole in drinking water

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (6-10) ◽  
pp. 149-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret H Whittaker ◽  
Ann Marie Gebhart ◽  
Thea Clipson Miller ◽  
Frank Hammer
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Renal Pelvis ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Occupationally Exposed ◽  
Action Levels

2-Mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) is used as a vulcanization accelerator in rubber products that come into contact with potable drinking water. When such products are evaluated for contact with potable water and submitted for ANSI/NSF Standard 61 certification, any chemical extracting from these products must be below an appropriate action level of exposure. As defined by Standard 61, a total allowable concentration (TAC) is the maximum concentration of a nonregulated contaminant allowed in a public drinking water supply, and the single product allowable concentration (SPAC) is 10% of the TAC. Currently, MBT has a TAC of 40 mg/L and a SPAC of 4 mg/L. A comprehensive health effects evaluation of MBT was performed to determine whether these action levels should be revised. Epidemiological investigations indicate that workers occupationally exposed to MBT have an increased risk of death from bladder cancer. Genotoxicity investigations in bacterial and mammalian test systems provide some evidence indicating that MBT has the potential to induce mutations and chromosomal aberrations. Toxicity studies in rats and mice chronically exposed to MBT identified increases in various tumours, such as adrenal gland tumours, pituitary gland tumours, liver tumours and renal pelvis tumours. The biological significance of most of these tumours is questionable due to a variety of factors, such as a lack of dose-response between tumour incidence and dose, and the effect of test article vehicle (corn oil) upon tumour rates. Potential human health effects of exposure to MBT can be predicted from an NTP 2-year cancer study in rats, as well as epidemiological investigations in occupationally exposed workers. A comprehensive review of the epidemiological and toxicological dataset for MBT indicates that the induction of renal pelvis transitional cell tumours is the most sensitive and relevant health effects endpoint upon which to base a revised TAC and SPAC. A multistage model was used to extrapolate to low-dose MBT exposures due to the genotoxicity and clastogenicity of MBT. A TAC of 600 mg/L was derived for MBT, and was based upon an LED10 of 157.681 mg/kg per day. A SPAC of 60 mg/L was derived by multiplying the revised TAC by 0.10, and rounding to one significant figure. These revised action levels are based upon the most sensitive health effects endpoint, as well as current cancer risk assessment methodology.

Developing a High Time-Resolution Online Instrument to Quantify Aerosol Oxidative Potential via Ascorbic Acid Oxidation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Battist Utinger
Keyword(s):  
Ascorbic Acid ◽  
Detection Limit ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Time Resolution ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Uv Absorption ◽  
High Time ◽  
High Time Resolution ◽  
Oxidative Potential

<p>Many large-scale epidemiological studies have shown a close correlation between adverse human health effects and ambient PM<sub>2.5</sub> exposure. A report by the World Health Organisation estimates that 1 out of 8 deaths globally are linked to air pollution. Even though various epidemiological studies underline this argument, the chemical components and physical properties of particulate matter that leads to the observed health effects remains highly uncertain.</p><p>            Aerosol oxidative potential defined as the capability of particles to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) with subsequent depletion of anti-oxidants, naturally present in the human lung, has been widely suggested as measure of their potential toxicity. Due to the fact that ROS (i.e. inorganic and organic peroxides and radicals) are highly reactive, they are therefore short-lived. Subsequently, classical offline analysis, where aerosol particles are typically collected on a filter for 24h, may lead to an underestimation of the oxidative potential.</p><p>            Therefore, we developed an online instrument that can continuously measure particle oxidative potential with a high time resolution (10 minutes). We further developed an online instrument described in Wragg et al. (2016) and implemented a physiologically relevant assay to assess aerosol oxidative potential, based on the chemistry of ascorbic acid (Campbell et al. (2019)). Ascorbic acid (AA) is a prevalent naturally occurring anti-oxidant present in the lung and can therefore be used as a proxy to measure the oxidative potential of aerosol. </p><p>            In this work, we further developed the AA online assay based on Campbell et al. (2019), implementing more physiologically relevant chemical conditions such as pH7 and we improved components of the instrument to increase its detection limit. With the current instrument AA oxidation can be quantified via two different spectroscopic methods: one based on fluorescence as described in Campbell et al. (2019) and a newly developed UV-absorption detection system using a liquid waveguide capillary cell (LWCC) which is a very sensitive long pathway (100cm) absorption cell.</p><p>            For the fluorescence approach, a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.22 µg/m<sup>3</sup> was determined for copper (Campbell et al. (2019)). In comparison, the current detection limit for the UV-absorption based setup is an order of magnitude lower (0.02 µg Cu/m<sup>3</sup>). This LOD is close to observations of copper concentrations at urban European locations, which are in the range of 0.001-0.009 µg/m<sup>3</sup>. Using both detection methods, we gain an improved understanding of the oxidation process, because the absorbance method measures AA depletion whereas in the fluorescence method the formation of the AA oxidation product dehydroascorbic is quantified. The online ascorbic acid assay as described will be applied in lab experiments (i.e. flow tubes or smog chamber) as well as for field measurements.</p><p>With the improvements of having a more physiological relevant assay and an improved detection method, this instrument is capable of providing a real-time and more realistic estimation of the oxidizing aerosol properties and their potential effect on human health compared to traditional offline methods.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Wragg, F. P. H. et al. (2016), Atmospheric Measurement<br>         Techniques, 9(10), pp. 4891–4900.</p><p> Campbell, S. J. et al. (2019), Analytical Chemistry, 91, 20, 13088-13095.</p>

Risk Assessment

2002 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Human Cancer ◽  
Food Additives ◽  
Latency Period ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Active Ingredients ◽  
Daily Lives

The purpose of risk assessment is estimation of the severity of harmful effects to human health and the environment that may result from exposure to chemicals present in the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) procedure of risk assessment, whether related to human health or to the environment, involves four steps: 1. hazard assessment 2. dose–response assessment 3. exposure assessment 4. risk characterization The quantity of chemicals in use today is staggering. According to the data compiled by Hodgson and Guthrie in 1980 (1), there were then 1500 active ingredients of pesticides, 4000 active ingredients of therapeutic drugs, 2000 drug additives to improve stability, 2500 food additives with nutritional value, 3000 food additives to promote product life, and 50,000 additional chemicals in common use. Considering the growth of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, these amounts must now be considerably larger. Past experience has shown that some of these chemicals, although not toxic unless ingested in large quantities, may be mutagenic and carcinogenic with chronic exposure to minute doses, or may interfere with the reproductive or immune systems of humans and animals. To protect human health it is necessary to determine that compounds to which people are exposed daily or periodically in their daily lives (such as cosmetics, foods, and pesticides) will not cause harm upon long-term exposure. The discussion in this chapter will focus primarly on carcinogenicity and mutagenicity, but also endocrine disrupters will be considered. The carcinogenicity of some chemicals was established through epidemiological studies. However, because of the long latency period of cancer, epidemiological studies require many years before any conclusions can be reached. In addition, they are very expensive. Another method that could be used is bioassay in animals. Such bioassays, although quite useful in predicting human cancer hazard, may take as long as 2 years or more and require at least 600 animals per assay. This method is also too costly in terms of time and money to be considered for large-scale screening. For these reasons an inexpensive, short-term assay system is needed for preliminary evaluation of potential mutagens and carcinogens.

An Alternative to Laboratory Animal Experimentation for Human Health Risk Assessment: Epidemiological Studies of Pet Animals

1985 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-285
Author(s):  
Lawrence T. Glickman ◽  
Linda M. Domanski
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Laboratory Animal ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Occupational Exposures ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Human Health Risk Assessment

Alternative approaches to the use of laboratory animals for human health risk assessment have traditionally utilised in vitro techniques. We propose an expanded concept of an alternative to include epidemiological studies of pet animals with spontaneously occurring disease. Compared with humans, the use of pet animals has the advantage of a shorter latent period for development of most diseases and is less confounded by occupational exposures or self-selected personal exposures such as alcohol and tobacco consumption. In contrast to laboratory animal experiments, spontaneous tumours in pets reflect natural exposures to a wide variety of environmental carcinogens, which may be more sensitive for the evaluation of the effects of complex low level ambient exposures, such as air pollutants. Sources of data on pet populations and their diseases are described and examples of epidemiological studies in pet animals are presented. Unlike laboratory animal experiments which primarily benefit humans, research into the cause, prevention, and treatment of spontaneously occurring diseases in pet animals may benefit the individual animal and the species.

scholarly journals Risk Assessment and Protective Effect of Respirators on Airborne Paraquat Exposure during Simulated Spraying Operations

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 498
Author(s):  
Sunisa Chaiklieng ◽  
Chuthamas Chagkornburee ◽  
Piyada Songsermsakul ◽  
Vichai Pruktharathikul
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Protective Effect ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Preventive Action ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Adverse Health Effects

Paraquat (PQ) is widely used as a herbicide in Thailand. The aim of this study was to evaluate the health risk and protective effect of respirators during simulated PQ spraying operations in an experimental chamber. Additional data were collected from the interviews of PQ sprayers. Airborne PQ concentrations were collected from an experimental spray chamber employing controlled-rate sprayers of solutions (paraquat dichloride in water) and were lower than 50 µg/m3 (the standard regulation). Air sampling through a polytetrafluoroethylene filter membrane was performed under the conditional settings of inside and outside respirators, and analysed by using a HPLC-UV detector following NIOSH method 5003. The average PQ concentrations inside the certified respirators (cartridge, cup-shaped mask, surgical mask) were significantly lower than those outside of the respirators (4.30 ± 2.63 µg/m3 vs. 19.12 ± 16.65 µg/m3), which was not found with convenient sponge masks. Human health risk assessment on short-term and long-term exposure following US.EPA guide estimation showed that cartridge respirators and cup-shaped masks significantly decreased the risk (hazard quotient) of adverse health effects (p-value < 0.05) among the PQ sprayers. As a result, the PQ sprayers should be aware of preventive action and use a qualified mask/respirator to protect against exposure to airborne PQ and chronic health effects. HIGHLIGHTS The estimated human health risk from paraquat (PQ) exposure lower than the occupational exposure limit (OEL: 50 µg/m3) during the spraying operation was unacceptable for some sprayers The average PQ concentrations inside the certified respirators (cartridge respirator and cup-shaped mask) were significantly lower than outside of the respirators that was not seen with the convenient sponge mask, a common type used by the sprayers The cartridge respirator and cup-shaped mask significantly decreased the risk estimation of the PQ sprayers with regard to adverse health effects both from short-term and long-term PQ exposure It is important for preventive action on exposure to PQ of the sprayers by the use of qualified respirators or masks to protect against inhalation of PQ and decrease health risks GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

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