PULMONARY TOXICITY IN HAMSTERS OF SMOKE PARTICLES FROM KUWAITI OIL FIRES

The Kuwaiti oil wells set on fire by retreating Iraqi troops at the en d of the Persian Gulf War released complex particles, inorganic and or ganic gases, and hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, damaging the enviro nment where many people live and work. In this study, we assessed the health effects of particles from the Kuwaiti oil fires by instilling h amsters intratracheally with particles (<3.5 mu M in size) collected i n Ahmadi, a residential area in Kuwait located downwind of hundreds of oil fires. Twenty-four hours after instillation, we performed broncho alveolar lavage (BAL) to assess various indicators of pulmonary inflam mation, including neutrophil and macrophage numbers; albumin, an index of air-blood barrier permeability; and activities of three enzymes: l actate dehydrogenase (LDH; an indicator of cell injury), myeloperoxida se (MPO; which indicates activation of neutrophils), and beta-N-acetyl glucosaminidase (GLN; which is indicative of damage to macrophages or neutrophils). We compared the response of hamsters instilled with part icles from Ahmadi to animals instilled with urban particles collected in Sr. Louis, Missouri. We also compared the Ahmadi particles against a highly fibrogenic positive control (alpha-quartz) and a relatively n ontoxic negative control (iron oxide). When compared to hamsters insti lled with particles from St. Louis, the animals treated with the Ahmad i particles had between 1.4- and 2.2-fold more neutrophils in their BA L fluids. The Ahmadi hamsters had more macrophages and lower MPO and L DH activities, but comparable albumin levels and GLN activities. Thus, the acute toxicity of the Ahmadi particles was roughly similar to tha t of urban particles collected in the United States, when identical ma sses were compared. However, the relatively higher concentrations of p articles measured in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during the oil fires (at times more than 16 times higher than the EPA standard) is of particula r concern. In addition, since the long-term effects of exposure to the se particles remains unknown, further studies are needed to fully asse ss the health effects of the Kuwaiti oil fires.