Lead content of fetal tissues after maternal intoxication.

A female employee was exposed to lead dust for 8 h daily from 4. 5. 1982 to 20. 5. 1982. During this time conception occurred (1st day of last menses 4. 5. 82). Acute symptoms of lead intoxication were not observed in this subject but were in other employees. Measurements of lead content were started after the end of exposure and continued for 6 months until normal values were obtained. Because of the half-life of nearly 20 days for lead elimination from blood the estimated body burden at the end of exposure was about 1200 ppb. The fetal tissue samples contained between 0.4 (brain) and 7.9 (liver) micrograms lead/g dry weight. The fetal lead was mainly stored in bone, blood and liver. From the results given a delayed elimination of fetal lead is suggested.

Lymphocyte subpopulations in solvent-exposed workers.

To estimate the cellular immune response of workers highly exposed to mixtures of organic solvents, subpopulations of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) were analyzed. For this, the PBLs of nine floorers (aged 25-58 years, exposure time 8-35 years) were subsequently labelled with monoclonal antibodies OKT4, OKT8, OKT11, anti-Leu 7 and anti-Leu 12. Analysis was made by a FACS IV cell sorter (Becton-Dickinson, USA). The control group consisted of matched pairs of healthy donors. In the exposed group we found a decrease in the OKT11 (all) T cell fraction, a decrease in the OKT4 helper cells, an increase in the anti-Leu 7 positive cells, mostly natural killer cells, an important increase in anti-Leu 12 labelled T cells, i.e., human B-lymphocytes, and no differences in the OKT8 suppressor cells. Total fluorescence intensity profiles between the exposed and the unexposed group did not differ, i.e., the marker density on the cell surfaces remained unchanged. Similar changes in lymphocyte subpopulations are found in states of immunodeficiency and immunogenetic forms of aplastic anemia, a disease whose etiological relationship may be due to long-term exposure to organic solvents.

[Pulmonary fibrosis due to working with hard metals (author's transl)]. / Lungenfibrosen bei der Bearbeitung von Hartmetallen.

Hard metals are worked with in numerous small industries. Thus hard metal fibroses are probably more frequent than has been supposed up to now. Observations on three patients have shown that a dry cough may preceed demonstrable manifestations by several months. As the full picture of the disease is hard to influence therapeutically an immediate change of job should be encouraged as soon as suspicious symptoms occur.

The effect of trichloroethylene on some serum-enzymes, on the cytoenzymological activity in leucocytes, and on the acid-base equilibrium.

Twenty male volunteers were exposed to 95 ppm trichloroethylene for 4 h. Immediately before and aftere xposure and 4 h and 20 h after cessation, some serum-enzymes, the cytoenzymological activity of the alkaline and acid phosphatases and the naphthol-AS-D-esterase in neutrophil granulocytes and the acid-base equilibrium were investigated. Compared with the control experiment, the activities of the three neutrophil enzymes increased during trichloroethylene exposure with high significance. No significant changes of the serum-enzymes and the acid-base equilibrium could be found.

[Chromosome studies on trichloroethylene workers (author's transl)]. / Cytogenetische Untersuchungen an Trichloräthylen-Arbeitern.

On the basis of lymphocyte cultures, chromosome studies were carried out on 28 degreasers under different trichloroethylene load. Nine of these cases showed pathological rates of hypodiploid cells, but otherwise normal caryotypes; one case had a caryotype 47,XY,+mar (small metacentric extrachromosome). In these nine cases the trichloroethylene load, but not the exposure periods on the working place were significantly higher than in the control group.