The influence of ammonia on some disturbances in protein carbohydrate and lipid metabolism caused by chronic intoxication with combustion gases.

Abstract

In experiments performed in a power station in Silesia, the possibility of binding SO2 and NO2 in combustion exhaust gases by ammonia has been investigated. In experiments on guinea pigs the mechanisms of toxic action of exhausts in exposures often found in industrial surroundings has been followed. The gaseous ammonia was added to exhausts in stoichiometric proportions (counted for SO2 and NO2) in order to check whether the toxicity of reaction products was lower than that of the original exhausts. The following determinations were made on control animals and animals exposed to combustion gases and their products with ammonia over a period of 120 days: body weight, morphology of peripheral blood, protein, lipid and carboxyhydrate content. Post-mortem examinations, including biochemical and histochemical tests in several tissues, were performed as well. It has been shown that addition of ammonia to exhausts binds sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides to a great extent, thus decreasing their toxicity. Exposure of animals to exhausts causes disturbances in protein, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism. The changes are reversed to a great extent by the addition of ammonia. The results obtained prove the effectiveness of the method of binding SO2, NO2, and other components of combustion gases by ammonia from the toxicological point of view.