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Journal Article

National Toxicology Program technical report series

Natl.Toxicol.Program.Tech.Rep.Ser.

Sep

421

1

287

JID: 8500747; ppublish

0888-8051; 0888-8051

PMID: 12616290

ENG

JOURNAL ARTICLE

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12616290

Talc ore may contain several other minerals including calcite, dolomite, magnesite, tremolite, anthophyllite, antigorite, quartz, pyrophyllite, micas, or chlorites. Talc products are sold in a multitude of grades which have physical or functional characteristics especially suited for particular applications, so occupational and consumer exposures to talc are complex. Epidemiology studies have suggested an association between non-fibrous talc and lung cancer risk. Talc was nominated by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for study by the NTP because of widespread human exposure and because of the lack of adequate information on its chronic toxicity and potential carcinogenicity. Toxicology and carcinogenicity studies of talc (non-asbestiform, cosmetic grade), a finely powdered hydrous magnesium silicate, were conducted by exposing groups of F344/N rats to aerosols for 6 hours per day, 5 days per week for up to 113 weeks (males) or 122 weeks (females). Groups of B6C3F1 mice were exposed similarly for up to 104 weeks. LIFETIME STUDY IN RATS: Groups of 49 or 50 male and 50 female rats were exposed to aerosols of 0, 6, or 18 mg/m(3) talc until mortality in any exposure group reached 80% (113 weeks for males and 122 weeks for females). These exposures were selected based on 4-week inhalation studies of the terminal lung talc burden in F344/N rats; concentrations greater than 18 mg/m(3) were expected to overwhelm lung clearance mechanisms and impair lung function. These exposure concentrations provided a dose equivalent of 0, 2.8, or 8.4 mg/kg per day for male rats and 0, 3.2, or 9.6 mg/kg per day for female rats. In a special study, additional groups of 22 male and 22 female rats were similarly exposed and examined for interim pathology evaluations or pulmonary function tests after 6, 11, 18, and 24 months and lung biochemistry and cytology studies after 24 months. The talc aerosols had a median mass aerodynamic diameter of 2.7 mm in the 6 mg/m(3) chamber and a median diameter of 3.2 mm in the 18 mg/m(3) chamber, with geometric standard deviations of 1.9 mm. However, there was a 7-week period beginning at study week 11 during which the chamber concentration for the 18 mg/m(3) rats varied from approximately 30 to 40 mg/m(3) because of difficulties with the aerosol concentration monitoring system. Further, there was a 12-week period beginning at approximately week 70 during which there were difficulties in generating the talc aerosol, and the chamber concentrations for rats and mice were substantially lower than the target concentrations. Survival, Body Weights, and Clinical Findings: The survival of male and female rats exposed to talc was similar to that of the controls. Mean body weights of rats exposed to 18 mg/m(3) were slightly lower than those of controls after week 65. No clinical findings were attributed to talc exposure. Pathology Findings: Absolute and relative lung weights of male rats exposed to 18 mg/m(3) were significantly greater than those of controls at the 6-, 11-, and 18-month interim evaluations and at the end of the lifetime study, while those of female rats exposed to 18 mg/m(3) were significantly greater at the 11-, 18-, and 24-month interim evaluations and at the end of the lifetime study. Inhalation exposure of rats to talc produced a spectrum of inflammatory, reparative, and proliferative processes in the lungs. Granulomatous inflammation occurred in nearly all exposed rats and the severity increased with exposure duration and concentration. Hyperplasia of the alveolar epithelium and interstitial fibrosis occurred in or near foci of inflammation in many exposed rats, while squamous metaplasia of the alveolar epithelium and squamous cysts were also occasionally seen. Accumulations of macrophages (histiocytes), most containing talc particles, were found in the peribronchial lymphoid tissue of the lung and in the bronchial and mediastinal Iymph nodes. In female rats, the incidences

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