Chloramine-T is a small molecular oxidizing agent that has been widely used as a disinfectant since the beginning of this century. It is generally used in a 5% solution but it is also supplied in powder form. Sporadic case reports of immediate-type sensitization to this agent associated with symptoms of asthma, rhinitis and urticaria have appeared during recent decades. In one of the reports, specific IgE antibodies in sera of four patients who developed asthmatic symptoms after exposure to chloramine-T were demonstrated using a radioimmuno-assay. Three cases of bronchial asthma in workers who had handled chloramine-T powder are described in the present report. Positive skin-prick test reactions to chloramine-T were observed and specific IgE antibodies to human serum albumin treated with chloramine-T were detected using the classic radioallergosorbent (RAST) technique in all three patients.

Results from the present study suggest that magnitude estimation of odor annoyance shows acceptable reliability and that it generates stable individual psychophysical power functions with relatively similar exponent sizes between subjects.

In order to elucidate the potential nephrotoxicity of low level occupational exposure to trichloroethylene (TRI), urine analysis of the tubular enzyme N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (U-NAG) was included in a cross-sectional study of metal degreasers in central Sweden. Eighty-six percent of 8-h TRI in air measurements were well below 50 mg/m3. Normal levels of NAG were found in morning urine samples from 29 workers compared to a historical reference group. A weak positive correlation (r = 0.48; P < 0.01) was observed between U-NAG activity and the concentration of the TRI metabolite trichloroacetic acid in urine but not with other estimates of recent or long-term exposure. In conclusion, TRI does not seem to be nephrotoxic at low exposure levels.

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