Metallic Elements in Fossil Fuel Combustion Products: Amounts and Form of Emissions and Evaluation of Carcinogenicity and Mutagenicity

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) andBrogan & Partners are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Environmental Health Perspectives.Metallic elements contained in coal, oil and gasoline are mobilized by combustion processes and may be emitted into the atmosphere, mainly as components of submicron particles. The information about the amounts, composition and form of metal compounds is reviewed for some fuels and combustion processes. Since metal compounds are always contained in urban air pollutants, they have to be considered whenever an evaluation of biological impact of air pollutants is made.The value of currently used bioassays for the evaluation of the role of trace metal compounds, either as major biologically active components or as modifiers of biological effects of organic compounds is assessed. The whole animal bioassays for carcinogenicity do not seem to be an appropriate approach. They are costly, time-consuming and not easily amenable to the testing of complex mixtures. Some problems related to the application and interpretation of short-term bioassays are considered, and the usefulness of such bioassays for the evaluation of trace metal components contained in complex air pollution mixtures is examined.

Effects of Components Derived from Diesel Exhaust Particles on Lung Physiology Related to Antigen

“…(8) DEP consist of carbonaceous nuclei, a vast number of organic chemicals, (9) and metals. (10) We have also demonstrated that DEP components augment the asthma model in vivo. (11) In brief, pulmonary exposure to DEP components has aggravated antigen-related airway inflammation characterized by infiltration of eosinophils and lymphocytes around the airway and an increase in goblet cells in the bronchial epithelium and the adverse effects have been more prominent with organic chemical components of DEP (DEP-OC) than with residual carboneous ones (washed DEP) with overall trend.…”

“…(1,2) The concentration of PM with a mass median aerodynamic diameter (a density-dependent unit of measure used to describe the diameter of the particle) ≤ 10μm (PM 10 ) is related to daily hospital admissions for several respiratory diseases. (3) Additionally, recent data have shown that PM with a mass median aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5μm (PM 2.5 ) are more closely associated with both acute and chronic respiratory effects and subsequent mortality than PM 10.…”

Experimental and thermodynamic investigation on transfer of cadmium influenced by sulfur and chlorine during municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration

“…Most of the cadmium that occurs in air is associated with particulate matter in the respirable range (0.1-1 m diameter), and its residence time is relatively short (days to weeks) but sufficient to allow long-range transport in the atmosphere [7]. Cadmium is recognized as a potential human carcinogen [8], and the State Environmental Protection Administration of China has set its emission standard from MSW incinerators at 0.1 mg/m 3 [9].…”

A review of tungsten: From environmental obscurity to scrutiny

“…Tungsten concentrations in ambient air are generally less than 1 ng m −3 , but increase moderately in urban, mining/metal processing areas. Air sampling studies over six U.S. cities report atmospheric levels of tungsten in the range of 0.1-2.0 g m −3 [48], while other studies performed in urban areas of East Chicago, Indiana and Montreal, Que., Canada have reported values of 6.0 and 5.2 ng m −3 , respectively [49,50]. A more systematic study conducted in eight urban areas of Canada reported a mean W concentration of 0.0039 g m −3 in the particulate fraction (PM 2.5 ) of atmospheric samples [51].…”