Léonard A, Lauwerys R
Teratogenicity and Mutagenicity Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Mutat Res. 1990 Jul;239(1):17-27. doi: 10.1016/0165-1110(90)90029-b.
Cobalt metal and cobalt compounds are extensively used for the production of high-temperature alloys, diamond tools, cemented carbides and hard metals, for the production of various salts used in electroplating and as catalysts, drying agents in paints, additives in animal feeds and pigments. Cobalt oxides are used not only in the enameling industry and for pigments, but also in catalytic applications. There is no indication that cobalt metal and cobalt compounds constitute a health risk for the general population. Allergic reactions (asthma, contact dermatitis) can be induced by certain cobalt compounds. Interstitial fibrosis has also been observed in workers exposed to high concentrations of dust containing cobalt, tungsten, iron, etc., mainly in the cemented carbides and the diamond-polishing industries. Several experiments have demonstrated that single or repeated injections of cobalt metal powder or some forms of cobalt salt and cobalt oxide may give rise to injection site sarcoma in rats and in rabbits but the human health significance of such data is questionable. Intratracheal administration of a high dose of one type of cobalt oxide induces lung tumors in rats but not in hamsters. In the latter long-term inhalation of cobalt oxide (10 mg/m3) did not increase the incidence of lung cancer. The human data are too limited to assess the potential carcinogenic risk for workers. Co2+ interacts with protein and nucleic acid synthesis and displays only weak mutagenic activity in microorganisms. Some cobalt salts have been reported to enhance morphological transformation of Syrian hamster embryo cells. Cobalt chloride displays some limited mutagenic activity in yeast and some cobalt compounds are able to produce numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in plant cells. Cobalt and its salts appear to be devoid of mutagenic and clastogenic activity in mammalian cells. Cobaltous acetate and cobaltous chloride have not been found to be teratogenic in hamsters and rats respectively.
钴金属和钴化合物广泛用于生产高温合金、金刚石工具、硬质合金和硬金属，用于生产电镀中使用的各种盐类以及用作催化剂、油漆中的干燥剂、动物饲料添加剂和颜料。氧化钴不仅用于搪瓷工业和颜料，还用于催化应用。没有迹象表明钴金属和钴化合物对普通人群构成健康风险。某些钴化合物可引发过敏反应（哮喘、接触性皮炎）。在主要从事硬质合金和金刚石抛光行业、接触高浓度含钴、钨、铁等粉尘的工人中也观察到了间质性纤维化。多项实验表明，单次或重复注射钴金属粉末或某些形式的钴盐和氧化钴可能会在大鼠和兔子身上引发注射部位肉瘤，但此类数据对人类健康的意义值得怀疑。气管内给予高剂量的一种氧化钴可在大鼠身上诱发肺肿瘤，但在仓鼠身上不会。在后者中，长期吸入氧化钴（10毫克/立方米）并未增加肺癌的发病率。人类数据过于有限，无法评估工人的潜在致癌风险。Co2+与蛋白质和核酸合成相互作用，在微生物中仅表现出微弱的诱变活性。据报道，一些钴盐可增强叙利亚仓鼠胚胎细胞的形态转化。氯化钴在酵母中表现出一定的诱变活性，一些钴化合物能够在植物细胞中产生染色体数目和结构畸变。钴及其盐类在哺乳动物细胞中似乎没有诱变和断裂活性。醋酸钴和氯化钴分别未被发现对仓鼠和大鼠具有致畸性。
