Air Toxics

Dr. George Leikauf and coworkers at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center examined the mechanism by which aldehyde inhalation can alter breathing patterns and damage cells lining the airways. Emissions from motor vehicles using gasoline and diesel fuels add to the outdoor levels of aldehydes, including formaldehyde and acrolein, which are known irritants of the respiratory tract. The investigators prposed to examine whether airway constriction due to exposure to aldehydes is caused by damage to airway cells, by the entry of white blood cells into the lungs, or both.

In this pilot study, Dr. Mary Cook and colleagues at the Midwest Research Institute explored how exposure to methanol vapor might affect the human nervous system. Methanol could be used as an alternative fuel, but it may lead to increased levels of methanol and formaldehyde in the atmosphere. The investigators exposed 12 young male volunteers to either filtered air or methanol vapor and assessed their response using 20 commonly used tests of sensory, behavioral, and reasoning performance before, during, and after each exposure.