[ RadSafe ] uranium smoke is a teratogen

Tue May 27 21:31:38 CDT 2008

May 27

         Thank you, Roy, for your suggestion to James/Ben.  I'm not going 
to hold my breath waiting for him to take you up on it.  I'd love to see 
it, especially the Discussion, with all its qualifiers.

Steven Dapra


At 03:56 PM 5/27/08 -0700, ROY HERREN wrote:
>Steven,
>
>     I'm really quite surprised to read that "James Salsman has objected" 
> to your not having read JL Domingo's paper, and yet he hasn't offered as 
> of yet to share his copy of the full article with you.  I appreciate the 
> fact that you've experienced difficulties in acquiring this particular 
> paper.  As a reasonable solution to this dilemma, I humble suggest that 
> since James Salsman allegedly has access to the full paper, and since he 
> is so anxious for you to read this important paper that he should share 
> his copy of the full paper with you and the rest of the Radsafe mailing 
> list.  Perhaps this e-mail may even serve to encourage James Salsman to 
> take action towards generously sharing his copy of this paper with you 
> and the rest of the Radsafe community.  I am confident that the entire 
> Radsafe community is looking  forward to reading the paper in question 
> shortly after James Salsman has made it available in a open e-mail text format.
>
>
>Roy Herren
>
>
>----- Original Message ----
>From: Steven Dapra <sjd at swcp.com>
>To: radsafelist <radsafe at radlab.nl>
>Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2008 5:55:43 PM
>Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] uranium smoke is a teratogen
>
>May 25
>
>         James Salsman has objected to my not having read JL Domingo's
>paper "Reproductive and developmental toxicity of natural and depleted
>uranium: a
>review."  [Reprod Toxicol. 2001 Nov-Dec;15(6):603-9.]
>
>         The abstract of this paper reads:  "Although the biokinetics,
>metabolism, and chemical toxicity of uranium are well known, until recently
>little attention was paid to the potential toxic effects of uranium on
>reproduction and development in mammals.  In recent years, it has been
>shown that uranium is a developmental toxicant when given orally or
>subcutaneously (SC) to mice. Decreased fertility, embryo/fetal toxicity
>including teratogenicity, and reduced growth of the offspring have been
>observed following uranium exposure at different gestation periods.  The
>reproductive toxicity, maternal toxicity, embryo/fetal toxicity, and
>postnatal effects of uranium, as well as the prevention by chelating agents
>of uranium-induced maternal and developmental toxicity are reviewed
>here.  Data on the toxic effects of depleted uranium on reproduction and
>development are also reviewed."
>
>         Note that until recently little attention has been paid to the
>uranium's possible adverse effects in mammals.  That would tend to suggest
>--- wouldn't it? --- that uranium isn't obviously injuring or killing
>people or animals and that from the outset it might not be much of a health
>problem.  Epidemiologists probably tend to confine their studies to
>substances or conditions that are having an obvious effect, or that can be
>plausibly connected with some health outcome.
>
>         JL Domingo is popular with James Salsman/Ben Fore, and by doing a
>Google search I was able to locate one abstract of a paper, and one full
>text of a paper (each with  JL Domingo as a co-author) on the effects of
>uranium on mice, or on rats.  (He is the last co-author listed on each of
>the two papers.)  I will discuss each of these items (briefly, I hope).  At
>the end of this message I will present the citations, links and so
>forth.  All citations have been omitted from my discussion.
>
>Discussion of the ABSTRACT:
>
>         The title of the paper is "Influence of Chronic Exposure to
>Uranium on Male Reproduction in Mice."
>
>         The study mice were treated with treated with five different doses
>of uranyl acetate dihydrate that was added to their drinking water.  "There
>was a significant but non-dose-related decrease in the pregnancy rate of
>these animals. Body weights were significantly depressed only" at one of
>the dose rates.  "The results of this investigation indicate that uranium
>does not cause any adverse effect on testicular function in mice at the
>concentrations usually ingested in the diet and drinking water, with a
>safety factor of more than 1000."
>
>Discussion of the PAPER (which was an "Original Research Article.")
>
>         The title of the paper is "Influence of Maternal Stress on
>Uranium-Induced Developmental Toxicity in Rats."
>
>         From the Introduction:  "Although uranium (U) exposure can result
>in both chemical and radiological toxicity, in general, chemical toxic
>effects from uranium compounds occur at lower exposure levels than
>radiological toxicity."  (That chemical effects are seen before
>radiological effects is well known, however I believe it bears repeating.)
>
>         This study exposed pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats to uranyl acetate
>dihydrate (UAD); and to stress, by restraining for rats for a certain
>period of time each day.
>
>(From the "Results.")
>
>         "No external, internal, or skeletal malformations, as well as
>external and internal variations, which could be attributed to uranium
>exposure or maternal immobilization were noted."  Also: "Although in
>relation to the control group the total number of fetuses with skeletal
>defects was significantly increased by uranium exposure, this increase was
>not dose-related."
>
>(From the "Discussion.")
>
>"However, in contrast to the results in mice no significant maternal
>toxicity was noted in rats at 1/20 of the LD-50 (0.415 mg/kg/day)."  The
>significance of this is the different effect of the UAD on different
>species.  Could the UAD also have a different effect on humans that it does
>on rats and mice?  The paper again acknowledges the different effects (on
>rats and mice), saying, "A comparison of the results of both studies
>indicates that mice are more sensitive than rats to the toxic effects of
>uranium during gestation."
>
>         The paper ends by saying:
>
>         "In summary, while the results of the present study in rats
>corroborate only partly some of the adverse effects of uranium exposure
>during gestation reported in mice, according to the overall data in both
>species, the results indicated that uranium is a developmental toxicant in
>mammals. Although most pregnant women are not currently exposed to uranium
>levels that could cause adverse effects on health, higher rates of uranium
>exposure have been reported for some populations (e.g., individuals who
>consume foods grown in areas with elevated concentrations of uranium in the
>soil, or subjects with elevated uranium levels in their drinking water). In
>turn, the military use of DU might be of concern as an additional source of
>exposure. On the other hand, if uranium exposures occur at levels that may
>provoke maternal toxicity, the potential adverse developmental effects
>could be enhanced by stress."
>
>         Other than to say that studies on humans would have to tease out
>the effects of stress versus those of depleted uranium, there is no need to
>comment.
>
>         Finally, since James Salsman/Ben Fore like to claim that depleted
>uranium, uranyl, etc., cause birth defects, according to the abstract of
>this paper, "No teratogenic effects were noted in any group."  Let me
>reiterate that this paper was co-authored by the JL Domingo whose paper in
>Reproductive Toxicology James/Ben has on several occasions derided me for
>not reading.
>
>Steven Dapra
>
>
>Link and publishing data for the Abstract:
>
><<http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/16/4/821>http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/16/4/821>
>
>(1991) Fundam Appl. Toxicol. 16, 821829.
>Received July 24, 1990; accepted December 28, 1990
>
>Influence of Chronic Exposure to Uranium on Male Reproduction in Mice
>
>Juan M. Llobet, Juan J. Sirvent, Arturo Ortega, and Jose L Domingo.
>
>Laboratory of Toxicology and Biochemistry San Lorenzo 21, 43201 Reus, Spain
>Pathology Unit, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona San Lorenzo 21,
>43201 Reus, Spain
>
>
>Link and publishing data for the Original Research Article:
>
><<http://www.ebmonline.org/cgi/content/full/228/9/1072>http://www.ebmonline.org/cgi/content/full/228/9/1072>
>
>Experimental Biology and Medicine 228:1072-1077 (2003)
>
>Influence of Maternal Stress on Uranium-Induced Developmental Toxicity in Rats
>M. Luisa Albina, Montserrat Belles, Mercedes Gomez, Domenec J. Sanchez and
>Jose L. Domingo.
>Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,
>"Rovira i Virgili" University, 43201 Reus, Spain
>
>-------  END  -------