Etiology of nose cancer in the wood working industry

To be able to distinguish the role of natural oak and beech wood dust in th e development of adenocarcinoma of the nose from that of additives such as lacquers, solvents, glues or wood-preservatives a) functional and morphological modifications of the mucous membranes of th e nose after defined occupational exposure were recorded for 149 exposed wo rkers and 33 controls, b) the quantity and quality of workplace exposure was determined by way of concentration measurements and chemical analyses carried out on 614 wood du st samples, c) the genotoxic effect of the most frequently found substances in the wood working industry was examined, d) the development of latency and incidence in connection with adenocarcino ma of the nose in Germany were investigated, e) the results were used to realise long-term inhalation tests on female ra ts. Hypoplasia of the cylindrical cells turned out to be the most frequently fo und morphological changes of the nasal mucous membranes following exposure to wood dust. The effect was even stronger after additional exposure to sol vents. Dysplasia were more observed when wood preservatives were found. In 73 % of the 614 samples wood preservations could be analysed. A genotoxic e ffect could be shown especially for oak wood, to a smaller extent for beech wood and to no extent at all for softwood. These findings comply with the epidemiological data. The genotoxocity of Lindan and PCP in nose cells of r ats and humans is a proven fact. These results, along with the prolonged la tent periods in Germany, may hint at a combined effect of oak and beech tim ber dusts and wood preservatives. Long term animal experiments were conduct ed, in which 480 female rats were exposed to oak dust with and without pres ervatives and to wood preservatives only. The histological study of so far more than 60 % of the exposed animals shows an increase in carcinoma especi ally for those animals which were exposed to oak dust containing also organ ic wood preservatives.