Methaemoglobinaemia: an explosive case.

Methaemoglobinaemia is an important perturbation to recognise, as untreated it may cause severe tissue hypoxia and cell death. We describe a case of methaemoglobinaemia acquired in an unusual manner, during an explosion at an explosives manufacturing plant.

Nitrocompuestos aromáticos explosivos: biotransformación, toxicidad y remediación / Nitro Compounds explosive aromatics

La contaminación del suelo y de las aguas subterráneas con explosivos representa un problema para la salud pública y para el ambiente. Entre las varias clases de explosivos, el trinitrotolueno (TNT) constituye un importante contaminante. También ha ocasionado toxicidad en trabajadores expuestos. El TNT puede hallarse acompañado por impurezas y recientemente se ha tomado conocimiento de que la disposición del mismo puede generar variados productos de degradación. Uno de los propósitos de este trabajo es proveer al lector de un mejor conocimiento de las interacciones nocivas con los sistemas biológicos del TNT y de todos los compuestos asociados con el mismo (TNT-AC), los cuales incluyen impurezas y productos de degradación y biotransformación. Existen evidencias de que el TNT y algunos TNT-AC son tóxicos y pueden ser cancerígenos. Por otro lado, la remediación de los sitios contaminados con TNT constituye a nivel mundial, un problema que espera una solución. Para lograr la misma, se necesitan tecnologías biológicas, químicas o físicas adecuadas, además de un conocimiento exhaustivo del destino del TNT y los TNT-AC en diversos ecosistemas. Un requisito adicional asociado a esta problemática, es el de disponer de métodos adecuados para la evaluación ecotoxicológica de un sitio dado o tratamiento de remediación (AU)

[National notification of incidence of chronic occupational poisoning during 1984-1993].

Incidence and distribution of chronic occupational poisoning caused by toxic chemicals during 1984 to 1993 throughout the country were summarized and analyzed. Totally, 28,901 cases of chronic occupational poisoning were notified during this period. Lead, benzene and trinitrotoluene were three major toxic chemicals which caused poisoning, with chronic lead poisoning listed the first place, accounting for 47.5% of the total cases. Most of the cases distributed in Laioning, Hunan and Jiangsu Provinces, and 75.4% of the cases occurred in machinery, chemical, metallurgical, non-ferrous, light industries, etc. Incidence of poisoning presented a decreased trend during the past 10 years and the reason of it was described in the paper. The authors indicated that quality assurance in notification of occupational diseases depended on regular implementation of the work in prevention and treatment of occupational diseases.

Effects of trinitrotoluene on serum phosphorylase A activities and on calcium contents in men and rats.

Wistar rats were exposed to trinitrotoluene (TNT) for 6 weeks. After initiation of TNT exposure, serum phosphorylase A activities and calcium contents were assayed for every 2 weeks. Both of these 2 parameters increased in rats treated with 50 and 100 mg TNT/kg b.w. at 3 intervals. Serum phosphorylase A activities and calcium contents of TNT exposure worker increased too.

[Toxic melanoderma in chronic intoxication with trinitrotoluene]. / Toksicheskaia melanodermiia pri khronicheskoi intoksikatsii trinitrotoluolom.

Hyperkinetic atactic syndrome, an atypical neurologic disorder of a chemical origin, was reported in connection with trinitrotoluene-induced melanoderma. Decreased level of urinary 17-hydroxycorticoids stresses the failure of one biochemical link in melanin synthesis, but proves the same pathogenic origin of both melanopathy manifestations. Antioxidant therapy in the pathogenesis treatment of melanoderma is considered valuable.

[Persistent ethanol drinking increases liver injury induced by trinitrotoluene exposure: an in-plant case-control study].

On the basis of a general survey conducted in a munitions plant, a case-control study was made on the various risk factors of liver damage induced by trinitrotoluene (TNT) exposure in the plant. The result of analysis showed that two factors the amount of ethanol drunk on each occasion and the frequency of drinking every week had a dose response relationship with their OR of occupational TNT Liver damage, but there was no connection between smoking and occupational TNT liver damage and no interaction between drinking and smoking on occupational TNT liver damage. The above results have revealed that exposure to TNT and with a long history of heavy drinking, have a greater risk of suffering from chronic liver impairment than non-drinking TNT exposure workers.

A clinical study of trinitrotoluene cataract.

The results of ophthalmic examination of 413 workers exposed to TNT were analysed. Cataracts were detected in 143 cases (34.6%), reaching 88.4% in those exposed in excess of 20 years. Both prevalence and degree of lenticular damage increased with increasing exposure. The shortest latent period of cataract development was three years and the youngest subject was only 22 years old. The characteristics of TNT lens impairment are: (1) gray-yellow dot opacities, with circular and cuneiform in the peripheral part of the lens detectable with transillumination and slit-lamp; (2) circular, discal or petaline opacities in the central part of the lens; (3) a transparent zone between the circular shadow and the lens equator. While circular opacities were observed in early cases, cuneiform opacities occurred in later cases.

Biological effects of trinitrotoluene from exposure below the threshold limit value.

Statistically significant rises in serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase and lactic dehydrogenase determinations occurred at exposures to TNT of 0.8 mg/m3 and persisted at exposures of 0.6 mg/m3. Based on these findings, the adequacy of the current threshold limit value for TNT (1.5 mg/m3) is questioned.