Subchronic inhalation toxicity of gold nanoparticles.

Background: Gold nanoparticles are widely used in consumer products, including cosmetics, food packaging, beverages, toothpaste, automobiles, and lubricants. With this increase in consumer products containing gold nanoparticles, the potential for worker exposure to gold nanoparticles will also increase. Only a few studies have produced data on the in vivo toxicology of gold nanoparticles, meaning that the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) of gold nanoparticles remain unclear.

Subchronic oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles.

Background: The antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles has resulted in their extensive application in health, electronic, consumer, medicinal, pesticide, and home products; however, silver nanoparticles remain a controversial area of research with respect to their toxicity in biological and ecological systems.

Results: This study tested the oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles (56 nm) over a period of 13 weeks (90 days) in F344 rats following Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guideline 408 and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). Five-week-old rats, weighing about 99 g for the males and 92 g for the females, were divided into four 4 groups (10 rats in each group): vehicle control, low-dose (30 mg/kg), middle-dose (125 mg/kg), and high-dose (500 mg/kg).

The concentration of no toxicologic concern (CoNTC) and airborne mycotoxins.

The threshold of toxicologic concern (TTC) concept was developed as a method to identify a chemical intake level that is predicted to be without adverse human health effects assuming daily intake over the course of a 70-yr life span. The TTC values are based on known structure-activity relationships and do not require chemical-specific toxicity data. This allows safety assessment (or prioritization for testing) of chemicals with known molecular structure but little or no toxicity data.

Subchronic inhalation toxicity of silver nanoparticles.

The subchronic inhalation toxicity of silver nanoparticles was studied in Sprague-Dawley rats. Eight-week-old rats, weighing approximately 253.2 g (males) and 162.

Trichloroethylene and dichloroethylene: a critical review of teratogenicity.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) and dichloroethylene (DCE) are high-volume industrial chemicals frequently found as contaminants in public drinking water supplies. The developmental toxicity of both chemicals has been evaluated in laboratory and epidemiologic studies. It has been suggested that TCE and DCE are specific cardiac teratogens and that drinking water contaminated with them increases the risk of congenital heart defects in exposed human populations.

Growth of mold on fiberglass insulation building materials--a review of the literature.

An exhaustive search of the literature on the growth of mold on fiberglass insulation materials was conducted. Because of the paucity of published material, both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles were included. The literature indicates that fiberglass can serve as a support matrix for the collection of debris which, when moist, have the capability of supporting the growth of mold.

Risk from inhaled mycotoxins in indoor office and residential environments.

Mycotoxins are known to produce veterinary and human diseases when consumed with contaminated foods. Mycotoxins have also been proposed to cause adverse human health effects after inhalation exposure to mold in indoor residential, school, and office environments. Epidemiologic evidence has been inadequate to establish a causal relationship between indoor mold and nonallergic, toxigenic health effects.

Adverse human health effects associated with molds in the indoor environment.

Molds are common and important allergens. About 5% of individuals are predicted to have some allergic airway symptoms from molds over their lifetime. However, it should be remembered that molds are not dominant allergens and that the outdoor molds, rather than indoor ones, are the most important.

Diisocyanate emission from a paint product: a preliminary analysis.

Exposure of workers to diisocyanates in the polyurethane foam manufacturing industry is well documented. However, very little quantitative data have been published on exposure to diisocyanates from the use of paints and coatings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate emission of 2,4-toluene diisocyanate, 2,6-toluene diisocyanate (2,6-TDI), and isophorone diisocyanate from a commercially available two-stage concrete coating and sealant.