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DIFFERENTIAL PULMONARY INFLAMMATION AND IN VITRO CYTOTOXICITY BY SIZE-FRACTIONATED FLY ASH PARTICLES FROM PULVERIZED COAL COMBUSTION
Citation:
Gilmour, M I., S. O'Connor, C. Dick, C A. Miller*, AND W P. Linak*. DIFFERENTIAL PULMONARY INFLAMMATION AND IN VITRO CYTOTOXICITY BY SIZE-FRACTIONATED FLY ASH PARTICLES FROM PULVERIZED COAL COMBUSTION. JOURNAL OF AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION. Air & Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA, 54(3):286-295, (2004).
Description:
The paper presents results of research on the adverse health effects associated with exposure to airborne particulate matter. Pulmonary inflammatory responses were examined in CDI mice after intratracheal instillation of 25 or 100 micrograms of ultrafine (<0.2 micrometers), fine (<2.5 micrometers), and coarse (>2.5 micrometers) coal fly ash from a combusted Montana subbituminous coal and of fine and coarse fractions from a combusted Western Kentucky bituminous coal. After 18 h, the lungs were lavaged and the bronchoalveolar (BAL) fluid was assessed for cellular influx, biochemical markers, and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The responses were compared to saline and endotoxin as negative and positive controls, respectively. On an equal mass basis, the Montana ultrafine particles induced a higher degree of neutrophil inflammation and cytokine levels than the fine or coarse particles. The W. Kentucky fine particles caused a moderate degree of inflammation and protein levels in BAL fluid that were higher than the Montana fine particles. Coarse particles did not produce any significant effects. In vitro experiments with rat alveolar macrophages showed that only the Montana ultrafine of the particles tested displayed significant cytotoxicity. Thus, the conclusion is that fly ash toxicity is inversely related to particle size and is associated with increased sulfur and trace element content.
