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Title: Epidermal hyperplasia in mouse skin following treatment with alternative drinking water disinfectants

Journal Article · · Environ. Health Perspect.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.8669293· OSTI ID:5777112

Female SENCAR mice were treated with aqueous solutions of hypochlorous acid (HOCl), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), chlorine dioxide (ClO/sub 2/), and monochloramine (NH/sub 2/Cl) by whole body exposure (except head) for a 10-min period for 4 days in the first experiment and for 1 day (except NH/sub 2/Cl) in the second experiment. Animals were sacrificed the day following the last treatment (experiment 1) or on day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, and 12 following treatment (experiment 2), and skin thickness was measured by light microscopy. Concentrations of disinfectants were 1, 10, 100, 300, and 1000 mg/L, for experiment 1 and 1000 mg/L for experiment 2. Thickness of the interfollicular epidermis (IFE) for control animals was 15.4 +/- 1.5 ..mu..m. After 4 days of treatment at 1000 mg/L, HOCl and ClO/sub 2/ increased thickness to 30 +/- 7.0 and 40.2 +/- 11.8, and NaOCl increased thickness to 25.2 +/- 6.1 ..mu.. m. The response to HOCl was found to be dose-related. The time-course study following a single treatment of 1000 mg/L HOCl, showed a progression of IFE thickening of from 18.3 +/- 1.4 at 1 day to 30.8 +/- 8.0 at 8 days, decreasing to 19.1 +/- 6.2 ..mu..m at 12 days. ClO/sub 2/ and NaOCl when tested in this manner did not produce increased thickness of IFE with time, but rather gave a persistent level of increase that remained for the 12 days. NH/sub 2/Cl reduced skin thickness to 13.6 +/- 6.1 ..mu..m. Examination of sections of skin treated with HOCl and ClO/sub 2/ indicated an increase in cell numbers. HOCl and ClO/sub 2/ are therefore capable of inducting hyperplastic responses in the mouse skin. The basis for the decrease in skin thickness resulting from NH/sub 2/Cl treatment remains to be established.

Research Organization:
Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH
OSTI ID:
5777112
Journal Information:
Environ. Health Perspect.; (United States), Vol. 69
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English