Brain J D, Long N C, Wolfthal S F, Dumyahn T, Dockery D W
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 1998 Mar;106(3):141-6. doi: 10.1289/ehp.98106141.
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.
在海湾战争末期，伊拉克军队撤退时点燃的科威特油井向大气中释放了复杂颗粒、无机和有机气体以及碳氢化合物，破坏了许多人生活和工作的环境。在本研究中，我们通过向仓鼠气管内注入在科威特艾哈迈迪收集的颗粒（粒径小于3.5微米）来评估科威特油井大火产生颗粒对健康的影响，艾哈迈迪是科威特的一个居民区，位于数百处油井大火的下风向。注入24小时后，我们进行支气管肺泡灌洗（BAL）以评估肺部炎症的各种指标，包括中性粒细胞和巨噬细胞数量；白蛋白，作为气血屏障通透性的指标；以及三种酶的活性：乳酸脱氢酶（LDH；细胞损伤指标）、髓过氧化物酶（MPO；指示中性粒细胞激活）和β-N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖苷酶（GLN；指示巨噬细胞或中性粒细胞损伤）。我们将注入艾哈迈迪颗粒的仓鼠的反应与注入在密苏里州圣路易斯收集的城市颗粒的动物的反应进行了比较。我们还将艾哈迈迪颗粒与高纤维化阳性对照（α-石英）和相对无毒的阴性对照（氧化铁）进行了比较。与注入圣路易斯颗粒的仓鼠相比，用艾哈迈迪颗粒处理的动物的支气管肺泡灌洗液中的中性粒细胞多1.4至2.2倍。注入艾哈迈迪颗粒的仓鼠有更多的巨噬细胞，MPO和LDH活性较低，但白蛋白水平和GLN活性相当。因此，当比较相同质量时，艾哈迈迪颗粒的急性毒性与在美国收集的城市颗粒大致相似。然而，在油井大火期间在科威特和沙特阿拉伯测得的颗粒浓度相对较高（有时比美国环境保护局标准高出16倍以上），这尤其令人担忧。此外，由于接触这些颗粒的长期影响尚不清楚，需要进一步研究以全面评估科威特油井大火对健康的影响。
