Comparison of hemolytic activities of coal fly ash and its soluble and insoluble fractions

Coal fly ash of a particle diameter smaller than 10 micron was collected from the precipitator of a power plant in Hong Kong. Comparison of hemolytic activities between fly ash and free silica showed that fly ash had a lower biological effect than free silica. The hemolytic activities of the soluble and insoluble fractions of fly ash were further compared by two methods: total hemoglobin method and cyanmethemoglobin method. An analysis of results showed significant differences for fly ash and its soluble fraction between methods (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.01, respectively). Fly ash, which contained a silicate level similar to its insoluble fraction, had a hemolytic activity higher than the summation of both its soluble and insoluble fractions. This indicates that the hemolytic activity was independent of the silicate content in the fly ash samples.