Carcinogenesis tests of nickel arsenides, nickel antimonide, and nickel telluride in rats.
Carcinogenicity of nickel arsenides (NiAs, Ni11As8, Ni5As2, NiAsS), nickel antimonide (NiSb), and nickel telluride (NiTe) was tested by IM administration to male Fischer rats (14 mg Ni/rat). Three negative control groups received similar IM injections of glycerol vehicle, ferronickel alloy (NiFe), or nickel titanate (NiTiO3); two positive control groups received nickel oxide (NiO) or ferronickel sulfide (Ni4FeS4) at equivalent dosages (14 mg Ni/rat). Within 2 years, the incidences of sarcomas at the injection site were: 0/20 (0%) in NiAs-treated rats, 8/16 (50%) in Ni11As8-treated rats; 17/20 (85%) in Ni5As2-treated rats; 14/16 (85%) in NiAsS-treated rats; 17/29 (59%) in NiSb-treated rats; and 14/26 (54%) in NiTe-treated rats. No local sarcomas occurred in the negative control groups, including 40 glycerol-treated rats, 16 NiFe-treated rats, and 20 NiTiO3-treated rats; in the positive control groups, local sarcomas occurred in 14/15 (93%) of NiO-treated rats and 15/15 (100%) of Ni4FeS4-treated rats. The 99 sarcomas that were induced by the various nickel compounds included 67 rhabdomyosarcomas, 11 fibrosarcomas, 15 osteosarcomas, 1 fibrous histiocytic sarcoma, and 5 undifferentiated sarcomas; metastases were found in 57 sarcoma-bearing rats. This study demonstrates that Ni11As8, Ni5As2, NiAsS, NiSb, and NiTe are carcinogenic for rats. Since Ni11As8, Ni5As2, and NiAsS are likely to be formed during oil shale retorting, environmental contamination by nickel arsenides in spent shale products could conceivably pose a carcinogenic hazard if large-scale production of petroleum from oil share is established.
D000818:Animals; D000965:Antimony; D001151:Arsenic; D001152:Arsenicals; D008297:Male; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced*; D009532:Nickel; D051381:Rats; D012513:Sarcoma, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D013691:Tellurium
D001152:Arsenicals; C038376:nickel arsenide; D009532:Nickel; D000965:Antimony; D001151:Arsenic; D013691:Tellurium