Financing EU, SSI Collaboration Division of Occupational Medicine, KI, Swedish Radiation Protection Institute, National Radiation Protection Board, England, GSF, M nchen, University of Salzburg, Austria. Our studies are aiming in finding extrinsic and intrinsic factors which can affect the alveolar macrophage function. The reduction of phagocytic capacity by ingested particles, might be one factor behind the associations between mortility and morbility of lung diseases and moderate levels of particles in the ambient air found in epidemiological studies. Financing EU, The Swedish Heart- and Lung Foundation. Collaboration Department of Clinical Bacteriology, Huddinge University Hospital, Division of Respiratory Medicine, Karolinska Hospital.
Isocyanates are irritants and the most common cause of occupational asthma.
Enormous quantities are used for production of polyurethane and an increasing number of isocyanates are used despite lack of toxicity data. Our idea is to compare the toxicity of different isocyanates and to elucidate the mechanisms behind the lung damage. In this way it should be possible to help the industry to choose the less dangerous isocyanates. This project includes chemicals released when polyurethane is heated. An isolated perfused guinea pig lung model will be used.