Abstract
First responders (FRs) present at Ground Zero within the critical first 72 h after the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse have progressively exhibited significant respiratory injury. The majority (>96%) of WTC dusts were >10 μm and no studies have examined potential health effects of this size fraction. This study sought to develop a system to generate and deliver supercoarse (10-53 μm) WTC particles to a rat model in a manner that mimicked FR exposure scenarios. A modified Fishing Line generator was integrated onto an intratracheal inhalation (ITIH) system that allowed for a bypassing of the nasal passages so as to mimic FR exposures. Dust concentrations were measured gravimetrically; particle size distribution was measured via elutriation. Results indicate that the system could produce dusts with 23 μm mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) at levels up to ≥1200 mg/m 3. To validate system utility, F344 rats were exposed for 2 h to ≈100 mg WTC dust/m 3. Exposed rats had significantly increased lung weight and levels of select tracer metals 1 h after exposure. Using this system, it is now possible to conduct relevant inhalation exposures to determine adverse WTC dusts impacts on the respiratory system. Furthermore, this novel integrated Fishing Line-ITIH system could potentially be used in the analyses of a wide spectrum of other dusts/pollutants of sizes previously untested or delivered to the lungs in ways that did not reflect realistic exposure scenarios.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 105-112 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2014 |
Keywords
- Dust
- Fishing line
- Generator
- Intratracheal inhalation
- WTC
- World Trade Center
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Epidemiology
- Toxicology
- Pollution
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health