Interaction of Mount St. Helens' volcanic ash with cells of the respiratory epithelium

• Published in: Environmental research 1984-12, Vol.35 (2), p.346-361
• Main Authors: Adler, Kenneth B., Mossman, Brooke T., Butler, Gregory B., Jean, Lucie M., Craighead, John E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; CELLS; CELLULE; CELULAS; Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases; Cricetinae; Disasters; Dust - adverse effects; EPITELIO; EPITHELIUM; Female; Guinea Pigs; In Vitro Techniques; Inorganic dusts (pneumoconiosises) and organic dusts (byssinosis etc.); Male; Medical sciences; Mesocricetus; Minerals - toxicity; Mucins - metabolism; Particle Size; RESPIRATORY SYSTEM; RODENTS; ROEDORES; RONGEUR; SISTEMA RESPIRATORIO; SYSTEME RESPIRATOIRE; Toxicology; Trachea - drug effects; Trachea - pathology; VOLCANIC ASH; WASHINGTON
• ISSN: 0013-9351; 1096-0953
• DOI: 10.1016/0013-9351(84)90142-7

Respirable-sized dust from the Mount St. Helens (MSH) eruption of Spring 1980, and minerals similar to the major components of the volcanic ash, were examined comparatively for interactions with epithelial cells of rodent respiratory airways in vitro. MSH dust, Na feldspar, cristobalite, and α-quartz, in concentrations of 0.4 to 40 mg/ml, had neither significant effects on mucin release by tracheal explants nor acute toxic effects after exposure for 2 hr. Long-term incubation (1 and 3 weeks) of explants after a 1-hr exposure to MSH dust failed to elicit widespread toxic or proliferative changes in airway epithelial cells. In contrast, long-term exposure to Na feldspar, cristobalite, and α-quartz caused significant toxicity to the explants, although metaplastic changes were not observed. Ultrastructural evidence of associations (e.g., phagocytosis) between particulates and respiratory epithelium was not observed. The results of these studies suggest that volcanic ash from MSH interacts minimally with cells of the respiratory mucosa.