Effect of ferrous sulfate aerosols and nitrogen dioxide on murine pulmonary defense

A murine infectivity model was used to test the effect of exposure to atmospheres containing 290 +/- 50 microgram/m3 of respirable sized ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) particles (0.4 micron mass median aerodynamic diameter) and 1.0 ppm nitrogen dioxide (NO2) prior to infection with aerosols of Staphylococcus aureus or group C streptococci. Exposure to these combined pollutants for 24 or 48 hr did not impair pulmonary inactivation of S. aureus. Exposure to FeSO4 or NO2 for 48 hr, or to both pollutants for 24 or 48 hr, resulted in significant decreases in inactivation of inhaled group C streptococci. Mortality studies following pollutant exposure demonstrated earlier, but not an increased number of deaths. These studies demonstrate the importance of the test organism in assessing air quality standards with the infectivity model and enhanced toxicity and prolongation of exposure to relatively low levels of submicron-size particles of FeSO4 and NO2.