Histological changes in the nasal mucosa in rats after long-term exposure to formaldehyde and wood dust

Wood dust is a well known nasal carcinogen in man, as formaldehyde is in rats. In certain occupational environments, combined exposure to wood dust and formaldehyde is common. Little is known about the effects of this combination. A pilot study was performed on four groups of Sprague-Dawley rats: one exposed to wood dust (25 mg/m3), another to formaldehyde (12.4 ppm) and a third to both wood dust and formaldehyde; the fourth group served a control group. After 104 weeks of exposure the nose and lungs were examined histologically. One well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma was found in the formaldehyde group. Squamous cell metaplasia was found significantly more often among the formaldehyde-exposed rats. Squamous cell metaplasia with dysplasia was most frequently observed, however, in the group exposed to both formaldehyde and wood dust. There were also significantly more rats with pulmonary emphysema in the groups exposed to wood dust than in the other groups.