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The mouse micronucleus test as a predictor of carcinogenicity
Information Section
533
Allergy to spathe flower
Chemical mixtures
Rhinitis (runny nose) aaad severe conjunctivitis have been reported in a 40-year-old woman exposed for 2 years in her home to the plant spathe flower (Spathiphyllum floribundum). Specific IgE antibodies for spathe flower were demonstrated and skin prick tests resulted in strong positive reactions to the pollen and leaves. The investigators were not aware of previous repoixs of allergic reactions to this plant species (Cahe:a Y.D. et aL, Allergy 1997, 52, 114).
A double issue of the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, published in association with BIBRA, addresses the difficulties of exposure assessment, hazard identification and risk characterization of chemical mixtures. The papers were presented at a European conference held in October 1995 at Veldhoven, The Netherlands (Feron V.J. and Bolt H.M. (Editors), Food and Chemical Toxicology 1996, 34, 1025).
Occupational asthma and COSHH failure The UK Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), introduced in 1988, require that employees be trained and educated about health and safety. Investigators from the Occupational Lung Disease Unit of a Birmingham, UK, hospital have assessed the impact of the regulations on workers with occupational asthma. One hundred attending the unit in 1995 completed a questionnaire on COS;HH implementation. The results indicated poor health surveillance, hazard education and training by employers, with only modest improvements ~ter the introduction of COSHH. Only 9% of patients reported having received information about the risks of getting asthma at work, and 7YYoclaimed to have never seen safety data sheets. This was in spite of the fact that almost half of the workers were exposed to prescribed asthma-inducing agents. "Employers and relevant organizations should increase awareness of occupational asthma in the workplace" and %mployers have to provide more preventive measures to their workers" (Siriruttanapruk S. and Burge P.S., OccupationalMedicine 1997, 47, 101).
The mouse micronucleus test as a predictor of carcinogeniclty In a major collaborative exercise, a total of 51 Japanese laboratories tested 104 known, probable or possible human carcinogens (selected from IARC Groups 1, 2A and 2B, respectively) in the micronucleus assay in mice, an examination of chromosome damage in the bone marrow or blood. The low percentage of positive results (38%, 30% and 39%, respectively) was attributed to the deliberate exclusion of well-known micronucleus inducers. When published mouse micronucleus data on some of these chemicals were then incorporated into the analysis, the positive rates were increased to 69%, 55% and 46%, respectively, and structure-activity considerations were used to improve the figures still further (91%, 65% and 60%, respectively). Nevertheless, the investigators seem a little optimistic in concluding that *such high sensitivity indicates that the micronucleus assay is a reliable in vivo genotoxicity testing method for carcinogenicity and identification of chemicals hazards" (Morita T. et aL, Mutation Research 1997, 389, 3).
533
Allergy to spathe flower
Chemical mixtures
Rhinitis (runny nose) aaad severe conjunctivitis have been reported in a 40-year-old woman exposed for 2 years in her home to the plant spathe flower (Spathiphyllum floribundum). Specific IgE antibodies for spathe flower were demonstrated and skin prick tests resulted in strong positive reactions to the pollen and leaves. The investigators were not aware of previous repoixs of allergic reactions to this plant species (Cahe:a Y.D. et aL, Allergy 1997, 52, 114).
A double issue of the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, published in association with BIBRA, addresses the difficulties of exposure assessment, hazard identification and risk characterization of chemical mixtures. The papers were presented at a European conference held in October 1995 at Veldhoven, The Netherlands (Feron V.J. and Bolt H.M. (Editors), Food and Chemical Toxicology 1996, 34, 1025).
Occupational asthma and COSHH failure The UK Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), introduced in 1988, require that employees be trained and educated about health and safety. Investigators from the Occupational Lung Disease Unit of a Birmingham, UK, hospital have assessed the impact of the regulations on workers with occupational asthma. One hundred attending the unit in 1995 completed a questionnaire on COS;HH implementation. The results indicated poor health surveillance, hazard education and training by employers, with only modest improvements ~ter the introduction of COSHH. Only 9% of patients reported having received information about the risks of getting asthma at work, and 7YYoclaimed to have never seen safety data sheets. This was in spite of the fact that almost half of the workers were exposed to prescribed asthma-inducing agents. "Employers and relevant organizations should increase awareness of occupational asthma in the workplace" and %mployers have to provide more preventive measures to their workers" (Siriruttanapruk S. and Burge P.S., OccupationalMedicine 1997, 47, 101).
The mouse micronucleus test as a predictor of carcinogeniclty In a major collaborative exercise, a total of 51 Japanese laboratories tested 104 known, probable or possible human carcinogens (selected from IARC Groups 1, 2A and 2B, respectively) in the micronucleus assay in mice, an examination of chromosome damage in the bone marrow or blood. The low percentage of positive results (38%, 30% and 39%, respectively) was attributed to the deliberate exclusion of well-known micronucleus inducers. When published mouse micronucleus data on some of these chemicals were then incorporated into the analysis, the positive rates were increased to 69%, 55% and 46%, respectively, and structure-activity considerations were used to improve the figures still further (91%, 65% and 60%, respectively). Nevertheless, the investigators seem a little optimistic in concluding that *such high sensitivity indicates that the micronucleus assay is a reliable in vivo genotoxicity testing method for carcinogenicity and identification of chemicals hazards" (Morita T. et aL, Mutation Research 1997, 389, 3).