TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR CHROMIUM - Davidborowski.com

CHROMIUM 412. HEALTH EFFECTSGastrointestinal Effects. Gastrointestinal effects have been associated with occupational exposureof humans to chromium compounds. In a report of two cases of acute exposure to "massive amounts" ofchromium trioxide fumes, the patients complained of abdominal or substernal pain, but furthercharacterization was not provided (Meyers 1950).In a NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation of an electroplating facility in the United States, 5 of 11 workersreported symptoms of stomach pain, two of duodenal ulcer, one of gastritis, one of stomach cramps, andone of frequent indigestion. The workers were employed for an average of 7.5 years and were exposed tomean concentrations of 0.004 mg chromium(VI)/m 3 (Lucas and Kramkowski 1975). These workers werenot compared to a control group. An otolaryngological examination of 77 employees of 8 chromiumelectroplating facilities in Czechoslovakia, where the mean level in the breathing zone above the platingbaths was 0.414 mg chromium(VI)/m 3 , revealed 12 cases of chronic tonsillitis, 5 cases of chronicpharyngitis, and 32 cases of atrophy of the left larynx (Hanslian et al. 1967). In a study of 97 workersfrom a chromate plant exposed to a mixture of insoluble chromite ore containing chromium(III) andsoluble chromium(VI) as sodium chromate and dichromate, gastrointestinal radiography revealed that 10of the workers had ulcer formation, and of these, 6 had hypertrophic gastritis. Nearly all of the workersbreathed through the mouth while at work and swallowed the chromate dust, thereby directly exposingthe gastrointestinal mucosa. Only 2 cases of gastrointestinal ulcer were found in 41 control individuals,who had the same racial, social, and economic characteristics as the chromium-exposed group (Mancuso1951). In a survey of a facility engaged in chromate production in Italy where exposure concentrationswere $0.01 mg chromium(VI)/m 3 , 15.4% of the 65 workers who worked in the production of dichromateand chromium trioxide for at least 1 year had duodenal ulcers and 9.2% had colitis. The ulcers wereconsidered to be due to exposure to chromium (Sassi 1956). Gastric mucosa irritation leading toduodenal ulcer was found in 21 of 90 workers engaged in the production of chromium salts. Symptomsof gastrointestinal pathology appeared about 3–5 years after the workers' initial contact (Sterekhova et al.1978). Most of these studies reporting gastrointestinal effects did not compare the workers withappropriate controls. Although the gastrointestinal irritation and ulceration due to exposure tochromium(VI) in air could be due to a direct action of chromium(VI) on the gastrointestinal mucosa fromswallowing chromium as a result of mouth breathing (or transfer via hand-to-mouth activity), otherfactors, such as stress and diet, can also cause gastrointestinal effects. While occupational exposure tochromium(VI) may result in gastrointestinal effects, a lower than expected incidence of death fromdiseases of the digestive tract was found among a cohort of 2,101 employees who had worked for at least90 days during the years 1945–1959 in a chromium production plant in Baltimore, Maryland, and werefollowed until 1977. The rate (O/E=23/36.16, SMR=64) is based on comparison with mortality rates for