Chronic inhalation of asbestos and cigarette smoke by hamsters

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1975 · Environ. Res.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7187401

Wehner, A P; Busch, R H; Olson, R J; Craig, D K

One hundred and two male Syrian golden hamsters received chronic exposures to a respirable aerosol of Canadian chrysotile asbestos (mean aerosol concentration = 23 ..mu..g/l) 7 hours per day, 5 days per week. Half of the animals were also exposed for 10 minutes to cigarette smoke in modified Hamburg II smoking machines, three times per day, 5 days per week, for the duration of their life span. The other half of the animals received sham-smoke exposures. Another group of 102 hamsters served as controls. Half of the controls received smoke exposures, the other half received sham exposures. Asbestos exposure resulted in earlier and more severe lung lesions than in identical groups of concurrent experiments, which had received life span exposures to aerosols of NiO (53 ..mu..g/l) and CoO (10 ..mu..g/l), or which were treated with diethylnitrosamine (12 x 0.25 mg by s.c. injection). Asbestosis developed in all animals and forced discontinuation of the asbestos exposures after 11 months. Of 12 lung adenomas found in 510 hamsters, ten occurred among the 102 animals of the asbestos-exposed groups, indicating an early neoplastic response. However, perhaps on account of their significantly shorter life span due to asbestosis, the incidence of laryngeal lesions and of malignant tumors was significantly lower in the asbestos + smoke-exposed group than in the control group having received smoke exposures. Neither a carcinogenic effect of asbestos nor a cocarcinogenic effect of cigarette smoke was observed. Cigarette smoke inhalation resulted in significantly lower mean body weights of the smoke-exposed groups. (auth)

• Research Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA
• OSTI ID: 7187401
• Journal Information: Environ. Res.; (United States), Vol. 10:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ASBESTOS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
HAMSTERS
NEOPLASMS
TOBACCO SMOKES
ADENOMAS
AIR POLLUTION
AMINES
CARCINOGENESIS
CHRONIC INTAKE
COBALT OXIDES
DISEASES
INHALATION
LARYNX
LIFE SPAN
LUNGS
NICKEL OXIDES
NITROSO COMPOUNDS
TOXICITY
AEROSOLS
ANIMALS
BODY
CHALCOGENIDES
COBALT COMPOUNDS
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
INTAKE
MAMMALS
NICKEL COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PATHOGENESIS
POLLUTION
RESIDUES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RODENTS
SMOKES
SOLS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
VERTEBRATES
560305* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Vertebrates- (-1987)
550900 - Pathology