Synergistic effects of air pollutants: Ozone plus a respirable aerosol

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991 · Research Report Health Effects Institue; (USA)

OSTI ID:5639185

Last, J A ^[1]

---

1. Univ. of California, Davis (USA)

Rats were concurrently exposed to mixtures of ozone or nitrogen dioxide and respirable-sized aerosols of sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfate, or sodium chloride, or to each pollutant individually. Their responses to such exposures were evaluated by various quantitative biochemical analyses of lung tissue or lavage fluids, or by morphometric analyses. Such studies were performed in the acute time frame, generally involving exposures of from one to nine days, depending on the assays used. Correlations between the biochemical and morphometric results were examined over a wide range of pollutant concentrations in the exposure chambers. Good correlations were found between the most sensitive biochemical indicators of lung damage--the protein content of lung lavage fluid or whole lung tissue and the rate of lung collagen synthesis--and the morphometric estimation of volume density or volume percent of the centriacinar lung lesion characteristically observed in animals exposed to ozone. Synergistic interaction between ozone and sulfuric acid aerosol was demonstrated to occur at environmentally relevant concentrations of both pollutants by several of the analytical methods used. Such interactions were demonstrated at concentrations of ozone as low as 0.12 parts per million (ppm)2 and of sulfuric acid aerosol at concentrations as low as 5 to 20 micrograms/m3. The acidity of the aerosol is a necessary (and apparently a sufficient) condition for such a synergistic interaction between an oxidant gas and a respirable aerosol to occur. A hitherto unexpected synergistic interaction between nitrogen dioxide and sodium chloride aerosol was found during these studies; it is hypothesized that this was due to formation of their acidic (anhydride) reaction product, nitrosyl chloride, in the chambers during exposure to the mixture.

• OSTI ID: 5639185
• Journal Information: Research Report Health Effects Institue; (USA), Journal Name: Research Report Health Effects Institue; (USA) Vol. 38; ISSN 1041-5505; ISSN RRHIE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
AMMONIUM SULFATES
ANIMALS
BODY
CHALCOGENIDES
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
COLLAGEN
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
ENZYMES
EXPOSURE CHAMBERS
GUINEA PIGS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HEMIACETAL DEHYDROGENASES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INHALATION
INORGANIC ACIDS
INTAKE
LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE
LUNGS
MAMMALS
MIXTURES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN DIOXIDE
NITROGEN OXIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
OXIDES
OXIDOREDUCTASES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OZONE
POLLUTION
PROTEINS
RATS
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RODENTS
SCLEROPROTEINS
SENSITIVITY
SODIUM CHLORIDES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SOLS
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFURIC ACID
SYNERGISM
TOXICITY
VERTEBRATES