Avtor/Urednik		Štupar, Janez; Vrtovec, Matjaž; Kocijančič, Andreja; Gantar, Anton
Naslov		Chromium status of tannery workers in relation to metabolic disorders
Tip		članek
Vir		J Appl Toxicol
Vol. in št.		Letnik 19
Leto izdaje		1999
Obseg		str. 437-46
Jezik		eng
Abstrakt		Chromium (Cr), being an excellent tanning agent, is widely used in the leather industry. In the process of leather production, tannery workers are exposed to either inorganic Cr(III) compounds or Cr bound to proteins (leather dust). The total Cr content in tannery air (1-54 micro g m-3) is rather high in comparison to ambient air (4-6 ng m-3') but the amount of Cr in inhalable particles (<10 micro m) is two to three orders of magnitude less (20-60 ng m-3). The total daily intake of Cr was estimated by the analysis of diet (24.3 +- 4.0 micro g Cr day-1), drinking water (0.3+-0.1 micro g Cr dm-3) and ambient air. The contribution of the latter was dominant for tannery workers and almost negligible (8%) for the unexposed population. Chromium is an essential nutrient required for sugar and fat metabolism. The normal dietary intake of Cr for the occupationally unexposed population is found to be suboptimal (<30 micro g Cr day-1) whereas tannery workers receive on average 150-325 micro g of supplemental Cr day-1. Assessment of the Cr status of both populations was made on the basis of the Cr contents of their scalp hair, pre-shift urine and thermally induced sweat. The median Cr contents in these tissues and fluids were significantly higher (P<O.O1) in tannery workers (hair: 4 micro g Cr g -1, urine: Cr/creatinine 1.7 micro.g Cr g-1, sweat: 25 micro g Cr dm-3) in comparison with the control group (hair: 0.16 micro g Cr g -1, urine: Cr/creatinine 0.13 micro g Cr g -1, sweat: 0.7 micro g Cr dm -3). Tannery workers absorbed up to 13 times more Cr in comparison to controls, the amount varying considerably depending on the workplace and duration of exposure. The main route of Cr absorption appears to be through the gastrointestinal tract, where medium to large particles play a dominant role. The absorption of Cr from leather dust may be more efficient in comparison to inorganic Cr(III) compounds. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters)
Deskriptorji		CHROMIUM TANNING OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE HAIR SWEAT AIR POLLUTANTS, OCCUPATIONAL GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE DIET BODY MASS INDEX CHOLESTEROL LIPOPROTEINS, HDL CHOLESTEROL LIPOPROTEINS, LDL CHOLESTEROL TRIGLYCERIDES