Mutagenicity, carcinogenicity and teratogenicity of cobalt metal and cobalt compounds

Cobalt metal and cobalt compounds are extensively used for the production of high-temperature alloys, diamond tools, cemented carbides and hard metals, for the production of various salts used in electroplating and as catalysts, drying agents in paints, additives in animal feeds and pigments. Cobalt oxides are used not only in the enameling industry and for pigments, but also in catalytic applications. There is no indication that cobalt metal and cobalt compounds constitute a health risk for the general population. Allergic reactions (asthma, contact dermatitis) can be induced by certain cobalt compounds. Interstitial fibrosis has also been observed in workers exposed to high concentrations of dust containing cobalt, tungsten, iron, etc., mainly in the cemented carbides and the diamond-polishing industries. Several experiments have demonstrated that single or repeated injections of cobalt metal powder or some forms of cobalt salt and cobalt oxide may give rise to injection site sarcoma in rats and in rabbits but the human health significance of such data is questionable. Intratracheal administration of a high dose of one type of cobalt oxide induces lung tumors in rats but not in hamsters. In the latter long-term inhalation of cobalt oxide (10 mg/m3) did not increase the incidence of lung cancer. The human data are too limited to assess the potential carcinogenic risk for workers. Co2+ interacts with protein and nucleic acid synthesis and displays only weak mutagenic activity in microorganisms. Some cobalt salts have been reported to enhance morphological transformation of Syrian hamster embryo cells. Cobalt chloride displays some limited mutagenic activity in yeast and some cobalt compounds are able to produce numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in plant cells. Cobalt and its salts appear to be devoid of mutagenic and clastogenic activity in mammalian cells. Cobaltous acetate and cobaltous chloride have not been found to be teratogenic in hamsters and rats respectively.