Incidences of high levels of air pollution have been correlated with increased morbidity and mortality in susceptible populations. Inhalation of the combustion-derived pollutant, residual oil fly ash (ROFA), has been shown to impair lung defense mechanisms in laboratory animals and in susceptible populations. ROFA particles are a complex mixture of soluble and insoluble metals, sulfates, acids, and other unknown material complexed to an insoluble carbonaceous core. Bioavailability of the soluble transition metals has been shown to play a key role in lung injury caused by ROFA exposure, and has been implicated in alterations in innate and adaptive pulmonary immune responses. This review examines the effects of ROFA and its constituents on lung responses involved in local host defense, such as inflammation, oxidant production, phagocytic activity, and lymphocyte function in animal models of pulmonary disease. The review is focused primarily on animal studies designed to address inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, allergic sensitization, and alterations in immune responses to infection after exposure to ROFA or its metal constituents. In addition, correlating evidence from epidemiological studies addressing increased incidence of lung disease in populations exposed to high levels of metal-containing pollutants will be addressed.
Jenny R. Roberts, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mail Stop 2015, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
Publication Date
20100701
Document Type
Chapter
Email Address
jur6@cdc.gov
Editors
Telone PH
Fiscal Year
2010
ISBN No.
9781607416326
NIOSH Division
HELD
Priority Area
Manufacturing
Source Name
Fly ash: reuse, environmental problems and related issues
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.