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Tungsten: an Emerging Toxicant, Alone or in Combination
1Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Department of Oncology, McGill University, 3755 Côte Ste Catherine Rd, Rm E537, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1E2, Canada.
Current Environmental Health Reports
|September 29, 2016
Summary
Tungsten is an emerging environmental toxicant. Research highlights risks to bone, immune, and lung health, especially in mixtures with cobalt, necessitating further human health studies.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Toxicology
- Occupational Health
- Human Health Risk Assessment
Background:
- Tungsten is recognized as an emerging environmental toxicant.
- Current understanding of tungsten's human health risks remains limited.
- Exposure to tungsten can occur in various occupational and environmental settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review populations at high risk of tungsten exposure.
- To summarize the known toxicity profile of tungsten compounds.
- To identify knowledge gaps in tungsten toxicology and human health impacts.
Main Methods:
- Review of epidemiological studies.
- Analysis of in vitro research.
- Evaluation of in vivo toxicological studies.
Main Results:
- Tungsten exposure is linked to potential adverse effects on bone, immune, and pulmonary systems, and cancer.
- Tungsten can potentiate the toxicity of other substances, notably in tungsten-cobalt mixtures.
- Limited data exists on the translation of in vitro and in vivo findings to human populations.
Conclusions:
- Further epidemiological studies in highly exposed populations are crucial.
- Investigating the combined toxicity of tungsten with other metals is essential.
- Comprehensive risk assessment requires understanding tungsten's effects both in isolation and in mixtures.
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