BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF MAGNESIUM-LEACHED CHRYSOTILE ASBESTOS

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  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 58  (5) , 465-473
Abstract
Chrysotile asbestos was leached in N HCl for varying times to produce a range of Mg-depleted samples. The protein adsorptive capacity, the hemolytic activity and the capacity to cause selective release of acid hydrolases from macrophages were measured for the various samples in vitro. The carcinogenicity of the same materials was determined following intrapleural inoculation in rats. The adsorptive capacity for albumin decreased linearly with Mg removal. The hemolytic activity also declined until about half the Mg had been removed, after which there was little further change. The selective release of acid hydrolases from macrophages in culture increased up to the point at which half the Mg had been removed, but by 90% depletion had declined rapidly. The carcinogenicity of 50%-depleted chrysotile was similar to that of intact, but at 90% depletion the incidence of mesothelial tumors had fallen considerably. There was no evidence that the leached samples fragmented more than the unleached in vivo.