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Toxicological Risks of Selected Flame-Retardant Chemicals
Systemic Effects
Death occurred in one out of four rabbits following a single dermal exposure to 8 g/kg antimony trioxide (Myers et al. 1978), and in one out of four rabbits exposed to 2 g/kg antimony trioxide (Ebbens 1972). Systemic toxicity and death occurred in three out of eight rabbits, but not in rats, following short-term exposure (20–21 d) to an unspecified dose of antimony trioxide (Fleming 1938). Gross pathologies were seen in the liver, lung, stomach, and kidney.
Other Systemic Effects
No studies were identified that investigated the immunological, neurological, reproductive, developmental, or carcinogenic effects of antimony trioxide following dermal exposure to antimony trioxide.
Inhalation Exposure
Systemic Effects
In humans, the lungs are the primary targets following inhalation exposure to antimony trioxide. Several studies of antimony smelter workers show that workers developed pneumoconiosis, chronic cough, and upper airway inflammation following chronic exposure to antimony trioxide (McCallum 1963, 1967; Cooper et al. 1968; Potkonjak and Pavlovich 1983). In addition, one study reported systemic effects following inhalation exposure in smelter workers, including weight loss, nausea, vomiting, nerve tenderness, and tingling (Renes 1953). In those studies, however, a causal role for antimony trioxide in the observed human health effects could not be confirmed because of the lack of individual exposure data for the workers and exposure to other compounds, including arsenic, lead, and alkali, that could be confounders.
The lungs are also the primary target tissues in animals following inhalation exposure (see Table 10–2). All experimental inhalation studies were conducted using whole-body exposure. Details of particle size and purity are provided in footnotes. Guinea pigs exposed to antimony trioxide2 (average concentration: 45.4 mg antimony trioxide/m3, 2–3 hr/d, 6 mo) developed pneumonitis, liver and spleen effects, and decreased white blood cell counts (Dernehl 1945). Similarly, pneumonia was seen following exposure of rats (100–125 mg antimony trioxide/m3, 100 hr/mo, 14.5 mo) and rabbits (89 mg antimony
2
Assumed particle size <1 µm and 99.8% pure based on production technique.
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