Toxicological characteristics of refinery streams used to manufacture lubricating oils

In the past, reports on the tumorigenic potential of lubricating oils in experimental animals have poorly defined the materials under study. In this paper the results of mouse skin painting studies with 46 clearly defined samples of refinery streams associated with lubricating oil processing show that modern conventional solvent refining of distillates removes tumorigenic potential while conventional acid refining may not. Furthermore, dewaxing, hydrofinishing, and clay treatments do not appear to mitigate the tumorigenicity of the lubricant distillates. Lubricant processing has changed over the years and assessments of the carcinogenicity of present-day lubricating materials must be based on knowledge of modern processing.