Carcinogen risk assessment of chromium compounds

Technical Report · Wed Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6840079

Gibb, H J; Chen, C W; Hiremath, C B

Hexavalent chromium has been identified as a human carcinogen. Evidence to support this contention derives from epidemiologic, animal, and genotoxicity studies. Although workers exposed to both trivalent and hexavalent chromium have been shown to be at an excess risk of respiratory cancer, only hexavalent chromium has been shown to be carcinogenic in animals. Both hexavalent and trivalent chromium have been shown to be mutagenic, but the evidence for hexavalent chromium is somewhat stronger than that for trivalent chromium. The quantitative estimation of the cancer risk due to hexavalent chromium in the ambient air is calculated on the basis of lung-cancer mortality data for chromate production workers. The lifetime respiratory cancer risk due to 1 microgram/cu m) of hexavalent chromium in the ambient air is estimated to be 1.2 x .002 on the basis of Mancuso's data and 9.4 x .003 on the basis of the Braver et al. data.

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (USA). Carcinogen Assessment Group
• OSTI ID: 6840079
• Report Number(s): PB-88-220363/XAB; EPA-600/D-88/129
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
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560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
CARCINOGENESIS
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS
DISEASES
MUTAGENESIS
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
PATHOGENESIS
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
RISK ASSESSMENT
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS