Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1998 Mar;106(3):141–146. doi: 10.1289/ehp.98106141

Pulmonary toxicity in hamsters of smoke particles from Kuwaiti oil fires.

J D Brain 1, N C Long 1, S F Wolfthal 1, T Dumyahn 1, D W Dockery 1
PMCID: PMC1533036  PMID: 9449679

Abstract

The Kuwaiti oil wells set on fire by retreating Iraqi troops at the end of the Persian Gulf War released complex particles, inorganic and organic gases, and hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, damaging the environment where many people live and work. In this study, we assessed the health effects of particles from the Kuwaiti oil fires by instilling hamsters intratracheally with particles (<3.5 microM in size) collected in Ahmadi, a residential area in Kuwait located downwind of hundreds of oil fires. Twenty-four hours after instillation, we performed bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to assess various indicators of pulmonary inflammation, including neutrophil and macrophage numbers; albumin, an index of air-blood barrier permeability; and activities of three enzymes: lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; an indicator of cell injury), myeloperoxidase (MPO; which indicates activation of neutrophils), and ss-N-acetylglucosaminidase (GLN; which is indicative of damage to macrophages or neutrophils). We compared the response of hamsters instilled with particles from Ahmadi to animals instilled with urban particles collected in St. Louis, Missouri. We also compared the Ahmadi particles against a highly fibrogenic positive control ([alpha]-quartz) and a relatively nontoxic negative control (iron oxide). When compared to hamsters instilled with particles from St. Louis, the animals treated with the Ahmadi particles had between 1.4- and 2.2-fold more neutrophils in their BAL fluids. The Ahmadi hamsters had more macrophages and lower MPO and LDH activities, but comparable albumin levels and GLN activities. Thus, the acute toxicity of the Ahmadi particles was roughly similar to that of urban particles collected in the United States, when identical masses were compared. However, the relatively higher concentrations of particles measured in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during the oil fires (at times more than 16 times higher than the EPA standard) is of particular concern. In addition, since the long-term effects of exposure to these particles remains unknown, further studies are needed to fully assess the health effects of the Kuwaiti oil fires.

Full text

PDF
141

Images in this article

143Figure 1
on p.143
143Figure 2
on p.143
143Figure 3
on p.143
144Figure 4
on p.144
144Figure 5
on p.144
144Figure 6
on p.144

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Beck B. D., Brain J. D., Bohannon D. E. An in vivo hamster bioassay to assess the toxicity of particulates for the lungs. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1982 Oct;66(1):9–29. doi: 10.1016/0041-008x(82)90057-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beck B. D., Feldman H. A., Brain J. D., Smith T. J., Hallock M., Gerson B. The pulmonary toxicity of talc and granite dust as estimated from an in vivo hamster bioassay. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1987 Feb;87(2):222–234. doi: 10.1016/0041-008x(87)90284-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brain J. D., Knudson D. E., Sorokin S. P., Davis M. A. Pulmonary distribution of particles given by intratracheal instillation or by aerosol inhalation. Environ Res. 1976 Feb;11(1):13–33. doi: 10.1016/0013-9351(76)90107-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Coombe M. D., Drysdale S. F. Assessment of the effects of atmospheric oil pollution in post war Kuwait. J R Army Med Corps. 1993 Oct;139(3):95–97. doi: 10.1136/jramc-139-03-03. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Darcey D. J., Everson R. B., Putman K. L., Randerath K. DNA adducts and exposure to burning oil. Lancet. 1992 Feb 22;339(8791):489–489. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(92)91092-m. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dockery D. W., Pope C. A., 3rd Acute respiratory effects of particulate air pollution. Annu Rev Public Health. 1994;15:107–132. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pu.15.050194.000543. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dockery D. W., Pope C. A., 3rd, Xu X., Spengler J. D., Ware J. H., Fay M. E., Ferris B. G., Jr, Speizer F. E. An association between air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities. N Engl J Med. 1993 Dec 9;329(24):1753–1759. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199312093292401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dockery D. W., Speizer F. E., Stram D. O., Ware J. H., Spengler J. D., Ferris B. G., Jr Effects of inhalable particles on respiratory health of children. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1989 Mar;139(3):587–594. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/139.3.587. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Etzel R. A., Ashley D. L. Volatile organic compounds in the blood of persons in Kuwait during the oil fires. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1994;66(2):125–129. doi: 10.1007/BF00383368. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hobbs P. V., Radke L. F. Airborne studies of the smoke from the kuwait oil fires. Science. 1992 May 15;256(5059):987–991. doi: 10.1126/science.256.5059.987. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Ito K., Thurston G. D. Daily PM10/mortality associations: an investigations of at-risk subpopulations. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 1996 Jan-Mar;6(1):79–95. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kelsey K. T., Xia F., Bodell W. J., Spengler J. D., Christiani D. C., Dockery D. W., Liber H. L. Genotoxicity to human cells induced by air particulates isolated during the Kuwait oil fires. Environ Res. 1994 Jan;64(1):18–25. doi: 10.1006/enrs.1994.1003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. King R. J., Clements J. A. Surface active materials from dog lung. I. Method of isolation. Am J Physiol. 1972 Sep;223(3):707–714. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1972.223.3.707. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. McDiarmid M. A., Jacobson-Kram D., Koloder K., Deeter D. P., Lachiver R. M., Scott B. G., Petrucelli B., Gustavison D., Putman D. Increased frequencies of sister chromatid exchange in soldiers deployed to Kuwait. Mutagenesis. 1995 May;10(3):263–265. doi: 10.1093/mutage/10.3.263. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Moeller R. B., Jr, Kalasinsky V. F., Razzaque M., Centeno J. A., Dick E. J., Abdal M., Petrov I. I., DeWitt T. W., al-Attar M., Pletcher J. M. Assessment of the histopathological lesions and chemical analysis of feral cats to the smoke from the Kuwait oil fires. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol. 1994;13(2):137–149. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ostro B., Sanchez J. M., Aranda C., Eskeland G. S. Air pollution and mortality: results from a study of Santiago, Chile. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 1996 Jan-Mar;6(1):97–114. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. PESCE A., MCKAY R. H., STOLZENBACH F., CAHN R. D., KAPLAN N. O. THE COMPARATIVE ENZYMOLOGY OF LACTIC DEHYDROGENASES. I. PROPERTIES OF THE CRYSTALLINE BEEF AND CHICKEN ENZYMES. J Biol Chem. 1964 Jun;239:1753–1761. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Paul B. B., Selvaraj R. J., Sbarra A. J. A sensitive assay method for peroxidases from various sources. J Reticuloendothel Soc. 1978 May;23(5):407–410. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Schwartz J., Dockery D. W., Neas L. M., Wypij D., Ware J. H., Spengler J. D., Koutrakis P., Speizer F. E., Ferris B. G., Jr Acute effects of summer air pollution on respiratory symptom reporting in children. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1994 Nov;150(5 Pt 1):1234–1242. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.150.5.7952546. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Schwartz J. Particulate air pollution and chronic respiratory disease. Environ Res. 1993 Jul;62(1):7–13. doi: 10.1006/enrs.1993.1083. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Schwartz J. What are people dying of on high air pollution days? Environ Res. 1994 Jan;64(1):26–35. doi: 10.1006/enrs.1994.1004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Smith T. J., Beck B. D., Brain J. D., Hinds W. C., Baron S. G., Weil L. Prediction of pneumoconiosis risk by bioassays of particulate from occupational exposures. Ann Occup Hyg. 1982;26(1-4):435–448. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. WOOLLEN J. W., HEYWORTH R., WALKER P. G. Studies on glucosaminidase. 3. Testicular N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase and N-acetyl-beta-galactosaminidase. Biochem J. 1961 Jan;78:111–116. doi: 10.1042/bj0780111. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Xu X. P., Dockery D. W., Wang L. H. Effects of air pollution on adult pulmonary function. Arch Environ Health. 1991 Jul-Aug;46(4):198–206. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1991.9937448. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Xu X., Ding H., Wang X. Acute effects of total suspended particles and sulfur dioxides on preterm delivery: a community-based cohort study. Arch Environ Health. 1995 Nov-Dec;50(6):407–415. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1995.9935976. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES