TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR CHROMIUM - Davidborowski.com

CHROMIUM 472. HEALTH EFFECTSferrochromite is reduced with coke, bauxite, and quartzite. The mean airborne concentration ofchromium in various sample locations was 0.075 mg chromium(III)/m 3 ; chromium(VI) was below thedetection limit of 0.001 mg chromium(VI)/m 3 at all locations (Foa et al. 1988). Workers employed in analloy steel plant with a mean exposure of 7 years to metallic chromium at 0.61 mg chromium(0)/m 3 and toother metals had normal urinary levels of total protein and β 2 -microglobulin, enzyme activities of alanineaminopeptidase,N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase, gammaglutamyl-transpeptidase, and β-galactosidase(Triebig et al. 1987). In boilermakers exposed to chromium(0), no increase in urinary levels ofchromium, and no differences in the levels of retinol binding protein, β 2 -microglobulin, or other indices ofrenal toxicity were found (Verschoor et al. 1988).In a group of 30 men and 25 women who were lifetime residents of an area in northern New Jerseycontaminated with chromium landfill, signs of preclinical renal damage were assessed by examining theurinary levels of four proteins, intestinal alkaline phophatase, tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase,N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase, and microalbumin (Wedeen et al. 1996). The mean urinary chromiumconcentration for the women was 0.2±0.1 µg/g creatinine, and for the men was 0.3 µg/g. None of the fourproteins exceeded normal urinary levels in either men or women. The authors concluded that long-termenvironmental exposure to chromium dust did not lead to tubular proteinurea or signs of preclinical renaldamage.An extensive epidemiological survey was conducted of housewives who lived in an area of Tokyo, Japan,in which contamination from chromium slag at a construction site was discovered in 1973. Thehousewives included in the study were those who lived in the area from 1978 to 1988, and controlsincluded housewives who lived in uncontaminated areas. Questionnaires, physical examinations, andclinical tests were conducted annually. Results of urinalysis revealed no significant differences betweenthe exposed and the control populations (Greater Tokyo Bureau of Hygiene 1989).Exposure of rats to sodium dichromate at #0.4 mg chromium(VI)/m 3 for #90 days did not causeabnormalities, as indicated by histopathological examination of the kidneys. Serum levels of creatinineand urea and urine levels of protein were also normal (Glaser et al. 1985, 1990). Furthermore, no renaleffects were observed in rats exposed to 0.1 mg chromium/m 3 as sodium dichromate (chromium(VI)) oras a 3:2 mixture of chromium(VI) trioxide and chromium(III) oxide for 18 months, based on histologicalexamination of the kidneys, urinalysis, and blood chemistry (Glaser et al. 1986, 1988). Rats exposed to15.5 mg chromium(IV)/m 3 as chromium dioxide for 2 years showed no histological evidence of kidney