Cross shift changes in lung function among bar and restaurant workers before and after implementation of a smoking ban.

OBJECTIVE: To study possible cross shift effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on pulmonary function among bar and restaurant employees before and after the implementation of a smoking ban in Norway. METHODS: The study included 93 subjects employed in 13 different establishments in Oslo. They were examined at the beginning and end of a workshift both while ETS exposure was present and when smoking was banned. The mean exposure level of nicotine and total dust before the ban was 28 microg/m3 (range 3-65) and 275 microg/m3 (range 81-506), respectively. Following the smoking ban, the mean level of nicotine and total dust was 0.6 mug/m3 and 77 microg/m3, respectively. Assessment of lung function included dynamic lung volumes and flows. RESULTS: The cross shift reduction in forced vital capacity (FVC) among 69 subjects participating in both examinations changed from 81 ml (SD 136) during exposure to ETS to 52 ml (SD 156) (p = 0.24) following the smoking ban. The reduction in forced expired volume in one second (FEV1) during a workshift, was borderline significantly reduced when comparing the situation before and after the intervention, by 89 ml (SD = 132) compared to 46 ml (SD = 152) (p = 0.09), respectively. The reduction in forced mid-expiratory flow rate (FEF25-75%) changed significantly from 199 ml/s (SD = 372) to 64 ml/s (SD = 307) (p = 0.01). Among 26 non-smokers and 11 asthmatics, the reduction in FEV1 and FEF25-75% was significantly larger during ETS exposure compared to after the smoking ban. There was an association between the dust concentration and decrease in FEF25-75% before the ban among non-smokers (p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: This first study of cross shift changes before and after the implementation of a smoking ban in restaurants and bars shows a larger cross shift decrease in lung function before compared with after the implementation of the ban.

Reduction of hexavalent chromium in a reconstituted system of cytochrome P-450 and cytochrome b5.

The reduction of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI] by the monooxygenase components was studied. Both a reconstituted system of cytochrome P-450 (P-450) and cytochrome b5 (b5) with NADPH was capable of reducing Na2CrO4 (30 microM) provided anaerobic atmosphere. The rates were 1.29 nmol Cr.min-1 nmol P-450(-1) and 0.73 nmol Cr.min-1 nmol b5(-1). Using NADH instead of NADPH gave very low reducing activities, confirming the enzymic nature of the P-450 dependent Cr(VI) reductase reaction. Oxygen, 22% (air) and 0.1% gave 89% and 69% inhibition of Cr(VI) reducing activity, respectively. Carbon monoxide (100%) caused an inhibition of about 37% and 44% for P-450 and b5, respectively. Externally added flavin mononucleotide (FMN) (3 microM) or Fe-ADP (10 microM) to the complete system stimulated the enzymatic reaction about 2-fold and 3-fold, respectively.

Ruminant uptake of nickel and other elements from industrial air pollution in the Norwegian-Russian border area.

Concentrations of the elements aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium and zinc in liver, and of nickel in kidneys, were studied in reindeer, moose and sheep from South Varanger in eastern Finnmark and comparable districts in western Finnmark, Norway. The study included samples from 31 reindeer, 10 moose and 10 sheep from Jarfjord (South Varanger); 31 reindeer, 27 moose and 15 sheep from Pasvik (South Varanger); and 40 reindeer, 16 moose and 15 sheep from western Finnmark. Levels of arsenic, copper, nickel and selenium were much higher in reindeer from one or both areas in South Varanger than in reindeer from western Finnmark. Levels of chromium, cobalt and zinc were also significantly higher in South Varanger reindeer than in reindeer from the reference area. Within South Varanger the highest levels of these elements were invariably found in the Jarfjord area. For the other elements studied hepatic levels in South Varanger were similar to or lower than in western Finnmark. Also in moose, higher levels of nickel and of selenium (Jarfjord only) were found in the South Varanger samples than in samples from western Finnmark. In sheep, on the other hand, levels in South Varanger samples were similar to levels in western Finnmark for all the elements studied. Comparing the results with reports on pollution of air and vegetation, it was concluded that for all the elements showing higher levels in reindeer and moose from South Varanger compared to the reference areas, the effect most probably was a result of atmospheric transport of industrial pollution from the nearby Russian towns Nikel and Zapoljarnij. The geographical and interspecies differences within the South Varanger samples support this conclusion.

Correlation between urinary 1-hydroxypyrene and ambient air pyrene measured with an inhalable aerosol sampler and a total dust sampler in an electrode paste plant.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of an inhalable aerosol sampler would improve the correlation between urinary 1-hydroxypyrene and occupational pyrene exposure compared to measurements with a total dust sampler in an electrode paste plant. PAHs were collected on a filter and adsorbent by a 37-mm closed-face total aerosol sampler and an open-face sampler for inhalable aerosol from the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM). 1-Hydroxypyrene in pre- and post-shift urine samples was quantitated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In this study, the use of the IOM sampler resulted in approximately four times higher concentrations of particulate PAH and pyrene than the total dust sampler. The correlation between pyrene levels measured with the two samplers was good with a correlation coefficient of 0.83. The correlation between workplace air pyrene and 1-hydroxypyrene in post-shift urine was poor (r = -0.12), but a small non-significant improvement was found with the IOM sampler (r = 0.11). In this factory the use of an inhalable aerosol sampler had only marginal effect on the correlation between 1-hydroxypyrene in urine and breathing zone pyrene. These results indicate that skin exposure is an important route of PAH uptake in this plant.

Preparation of metallothionein from rat liver and studies of its properties with respect to use as a standard in gel permeation chromatography, polyacrylamide gel systems, autoradiography and Western blotting.

1. A simple method for preparation of metallothionein (Mt) I and II has been developed for the purpose of making standards for use in various biochemical systems and in antibody production. 2. The theoretical content of SH groups in a Mt protein; assuming the mol. wt to be 10,000 and each molecule to contain 20 SH groups was found to be 7.1 and 7.7 times higher than for our purified Mt I and II, respectively. 3. In our native polyacrylamide gel system Mt I ran ahead of Mt II, while the two Mt forms were not separated in the Laemmli SDS system in which it behaved as a protein with mol. wt 10,000. In both gel systems, however, Mt I stained as a very faint band in comparison to Mt II, despite equal absorbance at 254 nm and Cd binding capacity. 4. Compared to staining of polyacrylamide gels with Coomassie Brilliant Blue less than 1/50 parts (1 ng) of the protein could be easily seen after silver staining. 5. It was found that Mt may undergo spontaneous modification, polymerization and loss of metal binding properties. 6. Spontaneous modification and polymerization reduced the antigenic properties of our purified Mt. Only Mt II appeared to be immunologically active.

Do cadmium and dexamethasone induce different types of metallothioneins?

1. Dexamethasone induced thionein in rat liver cross reacts with antibody made towards Cd-thionein from rat liver. 2. Dex-thionein binds Cd. 3. Compared to Cd-thionein, dex-thionein behaves differently on SDS polyacrylamide gels. 4. On molecular filtration on Sephadex G-75 columns, dex-thionein elutes slightly more towards the low molecular weight region than Cd-thionein. 5. Dex-thionein elutes in one peak with two shoulders after DEAE-Sephadex A-50 ion exchange chromatography, while Cd-thionein elutes in two peaks.

Is metallothionein involved in deposition of cadmium in bile?

1. By use of our metallothionein (Mt) antibody in Western blotting and techniques for investigating protein metal-binding capacity, the form and content of Mt in bile, collected from cadmium (Cd) treated rats, were studied. 2. It was found that bile is an excretory pathway for Mt from the liver. 3. However, only immunoreactive proteins of higher molecular weight, probably representing polymerized forms of Mt or Mt bound to other proteins, were detected. 4. No monomeric Mt was found. 5. Excretion of Mt is probably not of importance in biliary metal transport.

Occurrence of various forms of metallothionein in the rat after a short-term cadmium injection regimen.

1. Results are presented showing that the metal-binding metallothionein (Mt) species induced in rat liver in response to Cd administration consist of dimeric and trimeric forms of Mt. A monomeric form might be the first step in the polymerization process. 2. Two proteins (about 8 and 20 kDa mol. wt) are found in hippocampus, but not in brain cortex. 3. These proteins could not be demonstrated to cross-react with our Mt antibody, but the largest of them has strong Cd-binding capacity. 4. Our Mt antibody cross-reacts with a high metal affinity protein present in both brain cortex and hippocampus of twice the mol.wt (20 kDa) of our purified rat liver Mt standard. 5. The results indicate, however, that these Mt like proteins probably emerge from high molecular or membrane bound forms in the cells. 6. A theory is proposed that the predominant polyacrylamide gel band, matching the monomeric, rat liver Mt standard band, seen for all tissues studied in the present work originate from two sources, namely membrane bound and heavy metal induced monomeric form. 7. It is furthermore suggested that those tissues playing an active role in heavy metal metabolism and in protection against toxicity of such metals contain soluble Mts whose active metal-binding forms are oligomers.

Comparative study of an inhalable and a total dust sampler for personal sampling of dust and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the gas and particulate phase.

For many years the closed-face plastic cassette has been widely used for monitoring 'total' dust in working atmospheres. In the late 1980s a different personal sampler was developed at the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh. This so-called IOM sampler was designed to meet the criteria for inhalable dust (EN 481). In this work, a comparison of the closed-face 25 mm Gelman total dust sampler and the IOM inhalable sampler was made for exposure measurements of dust and PAHs among workers in an electrode paste plant. The two samplers were modified in order to permit sampling of both particulate and gas-phase PAHs. Three groups with different tasks were examined. The particle size distribution was determined using personal inhalable dust spectrometers and the GRIMM particle counter. The results showed that higher concentrations of dust and particulate PAHs were measured with the IOM inhalable sampler than the Gelman total dust sampler and the difference between the samplers was significant. This is in agreement with previously reported studies. In some samples collected with the IOM sampler very large particles were observed. There was no significant difference between volatile PAHs measured with the two samplers. For semi-volatile PAHs a significant difference between the samplers was observed, which was ascribed to evaporation loss from the filters during storage.