Evaluation of Potential Inhalation Hazard of Particulate Silicious Compounds by In Vitro Rabbit Alveolar Macrophage Tests—Application to Industrial Particulates Containing Hazardous Impurities

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Abstract
The Rabbit Alveolar Macrophage test was used to evaluate the toxic ranking of a series of particulate samples collected from in-plant control devices from various industrial processes. Generally, low-to-intermediate cytotoxicity was found for samples collected from a steel foundry and from different coal-fired power plants, whereas particulates originating from an aluminum and a copper smelter were highly toxic to alveolar macrophages (AM), as monitored by viability, total cellular protein, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels. In contrast to all others, these two samples also contained soluble components that contributed to their overall in vitro cytotoxicity. The copper-smelter dust and two coal fly ash samples chosen on the basis of their respective high, intermediate, and low in vitro cytotoxicity were used in aerosol exposures to examine their in vivo effects in mice. Observations from our laboratory reported elsewhere demonstrated parallel effects in in vivo assessments of the inhalation toxicity of these samples in the intact animal and thereby substantiated the in vitro data.

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