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Biomedical subjects

D C Muir

Publications and source records attributed to D C Muir.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Arctic indigenous women consume greater than acceptable levels of organochlorines.

Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides through traditional food resources was examined for Arctic Indigenous women living in two cultural and environmental areas of the Canadian Arctic--one community representing Baffin Island Inuit in eastern Arctic and two communities representing Sahtú Dene/Métis in western Arctic. Polychlorinated biphenyls, toxaphene, chlorobenzenes, hexachlorocyclohexanes, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, chlordane-related compounds and dieldrin were determined in local food resources as normally prepared and eaten. Quantified dietary recalls taken seasonally reflected normal consumption patterns of these food resources by women in three age groups: 20-40 y, 41-60 y and > or = 61 y. There was wide variation of intake of all organochlorine contaminants in both areas and among age groups for the Sahtú. Fifty percent of the intake recalls collected from the Baffin Inuit exceeded the acceptable daily intake for chlordane-related compounds and toxaphene, and a substantial percentage of the intake records for dieldrin and polychlorinated biphenyls exceeded the acceptable or tolerable daily intake levels. Primary contributing foods to organochlorine contaminants intake for the Baffin Inuit were meat and blubber of ringed seal, blubber of walrus and mattak and blubber of narwal. Important foods contributing organochlorine contaminant to the Sahtú Dene/Métis were caribou, whitefish, inconnu, trout and duck. The superior nutritional benefits and potential health risks of traditional food items are reviewed, as are implications for monitoring organochlorine contaminant contents of food, clinical symptoms and food use.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Cause of occupational disease.

The concept of causality is reviewed with special emphasis on occupational diseases. Separate approaches from the philosophical, scientific, and legal points of view are identified. There is controversy over the methodology of logical causality; inductive and deductive methods are described and reference is made to the verification or refutation approach. Application of the methods to epidemiology are reviewed. It is likely that many diseases have multiple causes and that only a component of occupational causality can be identified in each patient. Methods of assigning such a component are discussed. The difficulties of developing an equitable compensation policy in such circumstances are reviewed. The possible benefits of proportional compensation are noted.

Causality↗
PubMed1994

Chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants in arctic marine mammals.

By 1976, the presence of chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants (CHCs) had been demonstrated in fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus), ringed seal (Phoca hispida), hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), walrus (Obdobenus rosmarus divergens), beluga (Delphinapterus leucas), porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) in various parts of the Arctic. In spite of this early interest, very little subsequent research on contaminants in Arctic marine mammals was undertaken until the mid-1980s. Since that time, there has been an explosion of interest, resulting in a much expanded data base on contaminants in Arctic marine mammals. Except in the Russian Arctic, data have now been obtained on the temporospatial distribution of PCBs and other contaminants in ringed seal, beluga and polar bear. Contaminants in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) have also now been measured. On a fat weight basis, the sum of DDT-related compounds (S-DDT) and PCB levels are lowest in walrus (< 0.1 microgram/g), followed by ringed seal, (0.1-1 microgram/g range). Levels are an order of magnitude higher in beluga and narwhal (1-10 micrograms/g range). It appears that metabolism and excretion of S-DDT and PCBs may be less efficient in cetaceans, leading to greater biomagnification. Polar bears have similar levels of PCBs as cetaceans (1-10 micrograms/g), but with a much simpler congener pattern. DDE levels are lowest in polar bear, indicating rapid metabolism. Effects of age and sex on residue levels are found for all species where this was measured. Among cetaceans and ringed seal, sexually mature females have lower levels than males due to lactation. Although PCB levels in adult male polar bears are about twice as high as females, there is only a trivial age effect in either sex apart from an initial decrease from birth to sexual maturity (age 0-5). Comparison of levels of S-DDT and PCBs in Arctic beluga and ringed seal with those in beluga in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and ringed seal in the Baltic Sea, indicate that overall contamination of the Arctic marine ecosystem is 10-50 times less than the most highly contaminated areas in the northern hemisphere temperate latitude marine environment. Geographic distribution of residue levels in polar bears indicates a gradual increase from Alaska east to Svalbard, except PCB levels are significantly higher in eastern Greenland and Svalbard. Information on temporal trends is somewhat contradictory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

In vivo measurements of bone lead content in residents of southern Ontario.

In 111 subjects not occupationally exposed, bone lead content increased steadily with age in both men and women. Higher than expected bone lead levels were observed in two-thirds of 27 subjects working in occupations with potential for lead exposure. Five of 8 patients who displayed symptoms which might have been due to lead poisoning had increased bone lead levels. In vivo bone lead measurements reflect the cumulative extent of exposure to environmental and occupational sources of lead and allow the assessment of abnormal exposures.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Cancer of the respiratory tract in nickel sinter plant workers: effect of removal from sinter plant exposure.

The risk of death due to cancer of the nose or lung was studied in nickel sinter plant workers during the period after they left the sintering operations. It was found that the excess risk of death from both diseases continued for many years after leaving the sinter plant. No effect of age at first exposure could be found. Possible explanations for the continued risk include an irreversible cellular change or the persistence of carcinogenic nickel compounds in the mucosa.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Classification of radiographs for pneumoconiosis: the Canadian Pneumoconiosis Reading Panel.

A method of providing experience for readers in the classification of radiographs for pneumoconiosis is described. It is based on an exchange of films by mail, with provision for ongoing feedback of results. The effects of this feedback on reading levels is described. The method is suitable for readers who are unable to attend major centers for formal instruction, and has the additional advantage of continual monitoring of reading levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Mass spectrometric studies of the toxaphene components 2-exo,3-endo,5-exo,6-endo,8,8,10,10-octachlorobornane (T2) and 2-exo,3-endo,5-exo,6-endo,8,8,9,10,10-nonachlorobornane (T12).

The electron capture negative ion mass spectra of the title compounds show prominent [M-Cl]- ions, and low-abundance ions formed by further elimination of HCl or Cl2. The electron ionization positive ion mass spectra are complex, but structurally informative fragmentations are observed. In particular, fragmentations involving elimination of C2H2Cl2, and not of C2H4, C2H3Cl, C2HCl3 or C2Cl4, indicate that two chlorines are bound to the C2-C3 and C5-C6 units of a norbornane skeleton. Furthermore, from M+., elimination of HCl is enhanced with respect to Cl., relative to toxicants A and B, which are major components of commercial toxaphene; this result suggests that one chlorine atom is bound to each of carbons 2, 3, 5 and 6. Both compounds have CHCl2 substituents. Several of the fragmentation pathways appear to terminate at ions that may be tropylium analogues.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1993

Changing Horses.

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Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1993

Bias.

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Attitude↗
PubMed1993

Prevalence of small opacities in chest radiographs of nickel sinter plant workers.

Radiographs from 745 nickel sinter plant workers were taken and classified by five readers using the International Labour Office (1980) protocol. Each reader worked independently and the films were randomly mixed with films from a non-dust exposed office population and also with films from subjects known to have silicosis or asbestosis. The prevalence of small irregular opacities was selected as the outcome of interest. In the sinter workers this was within the range identified in cigarette smokers or in workers exposed to dusts of low fibrogenicity. Only minimal evidence of small round opacities was noted. There was no evidence from the chest radiographs that exposures to high concentrations of dusts containing compounds of nickel caused an inflammatory or fibrogenic response in the lungs of the exposed population.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Occupational dust exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A systematic overview of the evidence.

The object of this study was to assess the relationship between occupational dust exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Studies were identified using MEDLINE (January 1966 to July 1991), SCISEARCH, manual review of reference lists, and personal contact with more than 30 international experts. Studies of COPD, lung function, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or mortality in workers exposed to nonorganic dust were retrieved. Studies were included if dust exposure was measured quantitatively, and a quantitative relationship between dust exposure and one of the outcomes of interest was calculated while controlling at least for smoking and age. Methodological rigor was assessed, and data regarding the study populations, prognostic factors, and outcomes were extracted independently by two reviewers. Thirteen reports derived from four cohorts of workers met our inclusion criteria. Three of the cohorts were of coal miners and one was of gold miners. All of the studies found a statistically significant association between loss of lung function and cumulative respirable dust exposure. It was estimated that 80 (95% CI, 34 to 137) of 1,000 nonsmoking coal miners with a cumulative respirable dust exposure of 122.5 gh/m3 (considered equivalent to 35 years of work with a mean respirable dust level of 2 mg/m3) could be expected to develop a clinically important (> 20%) loss of FEV1 attributable to dust. Among 1,000 smoking miners the comparable estimate was 66 (95% CI, 49 to 84). The risk of a clinically important loss of lung function attributable to dust among nonsmoking gold miners was estimated to be three times as large as for coal miners at less than one fifth of the cumulative respirable dust exposure (21.3 gh/m3), the maximal exposure observed among the cohort of gold miners. We conclude that occupational dust is an important cause of COPD, and the risk appears to be greater for gold miners than for coal miners. One possible explanation of the greater risk among gold miners is the higher silica content in gold mine dust.

Bronchitis↗
PubMed1993

Inuit exposure to organochlorines through the aquatic food chain in arctic québec.

Inuit people (Eskimos) are likely exposed to persistent organochlorine compounds because their traditional diet includes fatty tissues of the arctic marine biota. Here we present the results of organochlorine compound analysis in milk fat samples from arctic Québec Inuit women and in fat tissues from various animal species inhabiting that region. The total concentration of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in Inuit milk fat was similar to that of the beluga, while the profile of the 10 congeners resembled that of the polar bear. Mean concentrations of various organochlorines in milk-fat samples from Inuit women were between 2 and 10 times greater than those found in samples previously collected from southern Québec women. The Inuit mothers exhibit the greatest body burden known to occur from exposure to organochlorine residues present in the environment by virtue of their location at the highest trophic level of the arctic food web.

Arctic Regions↗
PubMed1992

Arctic marine ecosystem contamination.

The current state of knowledge of levels, spatial and temporal trends of contaminants in the Arctic marine ecosystem varies greatly among pollutants and among environmental compartments. Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine (OC) pesticides and some heavy metals such as mercury and lead, in Arctic marine mammals and fish are relatively well documented because of the need for comparisons with biota in more polluted environments and interest in the contamination of native diets. Levels of heavy metals, alkanes, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and OCs in the Arctic Ocean are comparable to uncontaminated ocean waters in the mid-latitudes. But concentrations of alpha- and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCHs) are higher in northern waters far removed from local sources, possibly because lower water temperature reduces transfer to the atmosphere. Bioaccumulation of OCs and heavy metals in Arctic marine food chains begins with epontic ice algae or phytoplankton in surface waters. Polychlorinated camphenes (PCC), PCBs, DDT- and chlordane-related compounds are the major OCs in marine fish, mammals and seabirds. Mean concentrations of most PCBs and OC pesticides in ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations in the Canadian Arctic are quite similar indicating a uniform geographic distribution of contamination, although alpha-HCH showed a distinct latitudinal gradient in bears due to higher levels in zones influenced by continental runoff. Ringed seals from Spitzbergen have higher levels of PCBs, total DDT and polychlorinated dioxins/furans (PCDD/PCDFs). In contrast to other OCs, PCDD/PCDFs in Canadian Arctic ringed seals and polar bears were higher in the east/central Arctic than at more southerly locations. Remarkably high cadmium levels are found in kidney and liver of narwhal (Monodons monoceros) from western Baffin Bay (mean of 63.5 micrograms g-1) and western Greenland waters (median of 39.5 micrograms g-1). Mercury concentrations in muscle of ringed seal and cetaceans frequently exceed 0.5 microgram g-1 especially in older animals. Cadmium concentrations in polar bear liver increased from west to east, while mercury levels were higher in ringed seals from the western Canadian Arctic, which suggests that natural sources of these metals predominate. Studies of temporal trends in OCs in ringed seals and seabirds in the Canadian Arctic indicate PCB and DDT levels declined significantly from the early 1970s to the 1980s. There is a lack of temporal trend data for other OC pesticides as well as for heavy metals and hydrocarbons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Inuit foods and diet: a preliminary assessment of benefits and risks.

Traditional Inuit foods are contaminated with chemical residues from industrial and other activities around the world. The intake of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated camphenes (PCCs) exceeds the 'tolerable daily intake' (TDI) for many consumers. The implications of long term contaminant intake, even for single contaminants, are not known and will be difficult or impossible to determine in the foreseeable future. Traditional foods form a substantial part of the Inuit diet and are a major source of energy and essential nutrients. Available alternative imported foods are nutritionally inferior and substitution may lead to nutritional deficiencies and associated risks to health and to the social and cultural life of Arctic communities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Dietary 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran in rainbow trout: accumulation, disposition, and hepatic mixed-function oxidase enzyme induction.

Juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to dietary 2,3,7,8-[3H]tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF) (0.36 to 42.8 ng g-1) and accumulation, tissue distribution, biotransformation, and hepatic monooxygenase enzyme (MO) induction were studied. The assimilation efficiency of TCDF ranged from 49 to 62% in 30-day exposures and was independent of the TCDF level in the diet. Depuration half-lives (whole body) of TCDF following 30-day exposure ranged from 40 to 77 days and were significantly more rapid in fish exposed to 42.8 ng g-1. Liver somatic index (LSI) and rate of increase in liver weight were elevated in fish exposed to 42.8 ng g-1 TCDF compared to controls. Exposure to 9.2 ng g-1 TCDF in the diet for 140 days also resulted in higher LSI values, as well as increased mortality (16%), but had no significant effects on growth. [3H]TCDF was found mainly in the carcass (63-74%) and GI tract (18-31%), with lesser amounts in liver (0.6-2.3%) during the 140-day exposure, primarily (> 98%) in the form of the parent compound. Radioactivity in bile was found mainly as a single polar transformation product by reverse-phase HPLC. Glucuronidase hydrolysis yielded a product with the retention time expected of hydroxylated TCDF, suggesting the presence of a glucuronide conjugate. MO enzyme induction measured by ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in liver (postmitochondrial supernatant) was 137.5 and 15 times higher than that in control fish after 30 days dietary exposure to 42.8 and 9.2 ng g-1, respectively. EROD activities were correlated with TCDF concentrations in liver (R2 = 0.59, N = 45).

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Organochlorine contaminants in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) from the Canadian Arctic.

Organochlorine pesticides (DDT, chlordane, polychlorinated camphenes (PCCs), dieldrin, hexachloroheclohexanes (SigmaHCH), mirex), polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs) and chlorobenzenes (SigmaCBz) were determined in blubber and liver of narwhal (Monodon monoceros) collected during 1982-1983 from Pond Inlet on northern Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. PCCs were the predominate organochlorines in narwhal blubber, ranging in concentration from 2990 to 13 200 ng g(-1) (wet wt) in males and from 1910 to 8390 ng g(-1) in females. PCCs consisted of two major components, an octachlorobornane and a nonachlorobornane with gas chromatographic retention times of 1.05 and 1.22, relative to 4,4'-DDE. SigmaPCB concentrations in blubber ranged from 2250 to 7290 ng g(-1) in males and from 894 to 5710 ng g(-1) in females. Seven PCB congeners (tetra-, penta- and hexachlorobiphenyls) accounted for 45% of total PCB (SigmaPCB) in narwhal blubber. Narwhal had 1.4- to 8.6-fold higher ratios of tetra- and pentachlorobiphenyls to PCB-153 (2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl), lower 4,4'-DDE/SigmaDDT ratios and lower proportions of trans-nonachlor to total chlordane components than reported for odontocetes living in more contaminated environments. Mean SigmaPCB concentrations in narwhal were 6- to 15-fold lower than in dolphins from the Canadian east coast and belugas from the St Lawrence River estuary, respectively, while PCC levels were from 4- to about 2-fold lower, and SigmaHCH, dieldrin and SigmaCBz differed by <2-fold. The pattern of organochlorines in narwhal tissues suggests they are exposed to proportionally more volatile compounds, and may have less capacity to metabolize some of these compounds, relative to odontocetes living nearer sources of these contaminants.

Journal Article↗