title: Toxicological evaluation of realistic emission source aerosols (TERESA): summary and conclusions.
abstract: The toxicological evaluation of realistic emissions of source aerosols (TERESA) study seeks to delineate health effects of aerosols formed from emissions of particulate matter sources. This series of papers reports the findings of experiments using coal-fired power plants as the source of emissions and this paper summarizes the findings and knowledge acquired from these studies. Emissions were drawn directly from the stacks of three coal-fired power plants in the US, and photochemically aged in a mobile laboratory to simulate downwind power plant plume processing. The power plants used different sources of coal and had different emission controls. Exposure scenarios included primary particles, secondary particles and mixtures of these with common atmospheric constituents (α-pinene and ammonia). Extensive exposure characterization was carried out, and toxicological outcomes were evaluated in Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to different emission scenarios. Breathing pattern, pulmonary inflammatory responses, in vivo pulmonary and cardiac chemiluminescence and cardiac response in a model of acute myocardial infarction were assessed. The results showed no response or relatively mild responses to the inhaled aerosols studied; complex scenarios which included oxidized emissions and α-pinene to simulate biogenic secondary organic aerosol tended to induce more statistically significant responses than scenarios of oxidized and non-oxidized emissions alone. Relating adverse effects to specific components did not consistently identify a toxic constituent. These findings are consistent with most of the previously published studies using pure compounds to model secondary power plant emissions, but importantly add substantial complexity and thus have considerable merit in defining toxicological responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. jgodlesk@hsph.harvard.edu
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Godleski
authors.forename: Annette C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Rohr
authors.forename: Brent A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Coull
authors.forename: Choong-Min
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Edgar A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Koutrakis
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D003031:Coal; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000633:toxicity*; D011210:Power Plants; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants; D003031:Coal; D052638:Particulate Matter