- Author
- Komoriya, H. | Nakamura, I. | Ohya, I.
- Title
- Toxicological Study of the Effects of Freon 22 Inhalation: The Behavior of Rats Exposed to Freon Inhalation and an Evaluation of Freon Concentrations in Their Tissue.
- Coporate
- Gifu University School of Medicine, Japan Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical Univ., Japan Pharmaceutical Univ., Toyama, Japan
- Journal
- Nippon Hoigaku Zasshi, Vol. 42, No. 4/5, 372-380, 1988
- Keywords
- halons | inhalation | toxicology | rats | exposure | evaluation | experiments
- Abstract
- [ONLY ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH] The acute toxicity of Freon 22 gas has been studied, using rats under conditions in which the Freon concentration could be increased gradually. The rats were divided into four groups: A, B, C, and D. In group A, Freon 22 was administered by inhalation until death. In group B, Freon 22 also was administered by inhalation, these rats having been further exposed to this gas for up to 500 min after start of the experiments. The rats in group C were exposed to the gas for 140 min after death by cyanide poisoning and, similarly, the rats in group D were exposed to the gas but for 500 min agter death by cyanide poisoning. When the gas was introduced into a specially designed chamber containing the rats, the following symptoms were observed: (a) slow movement, (b) reeling, (c) collapse, (d) tachypnea, (e) the closing of the eyes, (f) violment movement of the extremities, and (g) the flowing of the secreta from the nose and the mouth. Out of a total of 8 rats in groups A and B, six died at Freon concentrations ranging from 35 to 38% from 103 to 128 min after start of the experiments. As for the remaining 2 rats, one died at a Freon concentraion of 24% at 71 min after start of the experiment, and the other, at a concentration of 27% at 86 min, respectively. The distribution of Freon 22 in the bodies of groups A and B was then compared with that found in the bodies of groups C and D. In the former groups, large amounts of Freon 22 were detected in all examined tissues, the mesenteric and subcutaneous adipose tissue containing the highest concentrations. In the latter groups, a considerable amount of Freon 22 was found in the great pectoral muscle and in the subcutaneous adipose tissue. Futher, small amounts of the gas also were detected in the lung, the heart, the brain, and in the blood of the heart, this suggesting that Freon 22 is able to enter the tissue through the skin and the respiratory tract after death. With regard to the ratios between the Freon 22 concentrations in the tissues, the ratio of the mesenteric adipose tissue to the subcutaneous adipose tissue, and that of the great psoas muscle to the great pectoral muscle were higher in groups A and B than in groups C and D. Thus, by checking these ratios, it can be determined whether the gas was inhaled prior to death.