Vanadium health effects

In the United States, the largest concentration of atmospheric vanadium occurs over Eastern seaboard cities where residual fuels of high vanadium content from Venezuela are burned ia utility boilers. Coal ash ia the atmosphere also coataias vanadium (36). Ambient air samples from New York and Boston contain as much as 600—1300 ng V/m, whereas air samples from Los Angeles and Honolulu contained 1—12 ng V/m. Adverse pubHc health effects attributable to vanadium ia the ambieat air have aot beea deteroiiaed. lacreased emphasis by iadustry oa controlling all plant emissions may have resulted ia more internal reclamation and recycle of vanadium catalysts. An apparent drop ia consumption of vanadium chemicals ia the United States since 1974 may be attributed, in part, to such reclamation activities. 

Todaro A, Bronsato R, Buratti M, et al. 1991. Acute exposure to vanadium-containing dusts the health effects and biological monitoring in a group of workers employed in boiler maintenance. Med Lav 82(2) 142-147. 

Nriagu, J.O. Vanadium in the Environment Health Effects, Vol. 2, John Wiley ... 

Diseases due to a lack of vanadium have been found in rats, chicks, and goats, but only under artificial conditions produced by researchers. A lack of vanadium has never been found to have any health effects on any kind of animals in namral settings. 

Vanadium is a mild irritant to the skin, eyes, and respiratory system. If inhaled or ingested in more than small amounts, it may cause damage to the kidneys and the blood. No serious, long-term health effects have been identified with exposure to the element. Compounds of vanadium are much more harmful. For example, vanadium pentoxide is toxic if inhaled or swallowed. 

Levels of Significant Exposure to Vanadium and Compounds - Inhalation 2-2 Levels of Significant Exposure To Vanadium and Compounds - Oral 2-3 Existing information on Health Effects of Vanadium and Compounds 5-1 Frequency of NPL Sites with Vanadium Contamination ... 

This Statement was prepared to give you information about vanadium and to emphasize the human health effects that may result from exposure to it. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 1,177 sites on its National Priorities List (NPL). Vanadium has been found at 23 of these sites. However, we do not know how many of the 1,177 NPL sites have been evaluated for vanadium. As EPA evaluates more sites, the number of sites at which vanadium is found may change. The information is important for you because vanadium may cause harmful health effects and because these sites are potential or actual sources of human exposure to vanadium. 

If you are exposed to a hazardous substance such as vanadium, several factors will determine whether harmful health effects will occur and what the type and severity of those health effects will be. These factors include the dose (how much), the duration (how long), the route or pathway by which you are exposed (breathing, eating, drinking, or skin contact), the other chemicals to which you are exposed, and your individual characteristics such as age, sex, nutritional status, family traits, life style, and state of health. 

No studies were located regarding the following health effects in humans or animals after inhalation exposure to vanadium. 

Section 104(i)(5) of CERCLA as amended directs the Administrator of ATSDR (in consultation with the Administrator of ERA and agencies and programs of the Public Health Service) to assess whether adequate information on the health effects of vanadium is available. Where adequate information is not available, ATSDR, in conjunction with the National Toxicology Program (NTP), is required to assure the initiation of a program of research designed to determine the health effects (and techniques for developing methods to determine such health effects) of vanadium. 

FIGURE 2-3. Existing Information on Health Effects of Vanadium and Compounds... 

Curran GL, Burch RE. 1968. Biological and health effects of vanadium. Trace substances in Environmental Health 1101 96-104. 

Sources Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Huoride (1997) Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin 85, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline (1998) EHetary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids (2000) Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc (2001) Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate (2005) and EHetary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D (2011). These reports may be accessed via www.nap.edu A Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is the highest level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general population. Unless otherwise specified, the UL represents total intake from food, water, and supplements. Due to a lack of suitable data, ULs could not be established for vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, biotin, and carotenoids. In the absence of a UL, extra caution may be warranted in consuming levels above recommended intakes. Members of the general population should be advised not to routinely exceed the UL. The UL is not meant to ply to individuals who are treated with the nutrient under medical supervision or to individuals with predisposing conditions that modify their sensitivity to the nutrient... 

Magnesium vanadates, as vanadium compounds in general, are known irritants of the respiratory tract and conjunctiva. The threshold limit value (TLV) for vanadium compounds in air recommended by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health is 0.05 mg/m based on a typical 8-h workday and 40-h workweek (7,147). Chronic inhalation can lead to lung diseases such as bronchitis, bronchopneumonia, and lobar pneumonia. These dust-related effects can be avoided by use of individual respirators in areas where exposure is likely. 

Sulfur Polymer Cement. SPC has been proven effective in reducing leach rates of reactive heavy metals to the extent that some wastes can be managed solely as low level waste (LLW). When SPC is combined with mercury and lead oxides (both toxic metals), it interacts chemically to form mercury sulfide, HgS, and lead sulfide, PbS, both of which are insoluble in water. A dried sulfur residue from petroleum refining that contained 600-ppm vanadium (a carcinogen) was chemically modified using dicyclopentadiene and oligomer of cyclopentadiene and used to make SC (58). This material was examined by the California Department of Health Services (Cal EPA) and the leachable level of vanadium had been reduced to 8.3 ppm, well below the soluble threshold limit concentration of 24 ppm (59). 

Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are substances that may cause immediate or long-term adverse effects on human health. HAPs can be gases, particulates, trace metals such as mercui y, and vapors such as benzene. For coal-fired power plants, the HAPs of most concern are metals such as mercury, arsenic, and vanadium. 

Compared to a number of other metals, vanadium appears to be relatively innocuous when ingested in low concentrations by animals however, it is by no means certain that this will be true for chronic exposure, as toxic effects have been reported [80], The nutrition community treats vanadium as a member of the ultra trace metals, which have a nutritional requirement of less than 1 mg/kg diet and are present in tissues in the range of micrograms per kg [81]. Although evidence suggests that vanadium is beneficial to human health, its mechanism of action remains obscure. No specific dietary recommendations have been made, in part, because there is controversy surrounding whether or not vanadium is an essential element. 

For some trace elements, continued suboptimal dietary intake— in the presence of physiological, nutritional, or other metabolic stress— may eventually have a detrimental effect. Then additional dietary supplementation may have a health restorative effect. Such effects are most clearly demonstrated in experimental animals. Examples include the effects of boron in the presence of vitamin D depletion, or the need for increased vanadium when there is either an experimentally induced deficient or excess supply of dietary iodine. ... 

They also may not be directly adverse, but can indicate potential health impairment (e.g., DNA adducts). Biomarkers of effects caused by vanadium are discussed in Section 2.5.2. 

Reproductive Toxicity. No data exist on reproductive effects on humans from exposure to vanadium by any exposure route. One animal study shows that vanadium did not affect reproductive parameters in rats following oral exposure (Domingo et al. 1986). Since vanadium is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract (Conklin et al. 1982 Roschin et al. 1980) and skin (WHO 1988), exposure by these routes is unlikely to be a health risk in humans. Toxicokinetic studies in humans (Schroeder et al. 1963) and reliable studies in animals (Edel and Sabbioni 1988) do not indicate that the reproductive system accumulates vanadium. Humans are most likely to be exposed to vanadium in the air, but the reproductive system does not appear to be a sensitive target of vanadium toxicity. Further studies would not appear to be particularly useful. 

Hogan GR. 1989. Vanadium induced erythropoiesis secondary to a hemolytic effect. Trace Subst Environ Health 2 429-435. 

Kiviluoto M, Rasanen 0, Rinne A, et al. 1979. Effects of vanadium on the upper respiratory tract of workers in a vanadium factory A macroscopic and microscopic study. Scand J Work Environ Health 5 50-58. 

Lewis CE. 1959. The biological effects of vanadium. II. The signs and symptoms of occupational vanadium exposure. AMAArch Ind Health 19 497-503. 

Sabbioni E, Clerici L, Brazzelli A. 1983. Different effects of vanadium ions on some DNA-metabolizing enzymes. J Toxicol Environ Health 12 737-748. 

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