White Phosphorus-Felt Smoke: Effects on Reproduction in the Rat
Abstract
The effects of white phosphorus-felt smoke as a potential teratogen in producing a dominant lethal mutation (DLM) or on reproduction in a single generation (SG) in rats were investigated. Pregnant rats were exposed to WP-felt smoke in concentrations of 0.500, or 1,000 mg/cu m for 15 min/day for 10 consecutive days. On day 20 of gestation, their fetuses were derived by Caesarean section. One control pup had unilateral anophthalmia and one had narrow atria. One from the 1,000 mg/cu m group had a short tongue and one had narrow atria and a thin-walled heart. Proven (successfully mated) male rats for the DLM study were exposed to the same conditions 5 days/week for 10 weeks and were mated with two groups of virgin females for 1 week each. The first group of females mated to males exposed to the 500 mg/cu m dose had significantly more dams with at least one resorption than did the group mated to control males. Males in the SG study were exposed to the same conditions as the DLM males; the females were exposed to these conditions for the last 3 weeks of the males' exposures. Pups born to the dams in the 1,000 mg/cu m group had significantly lower body weights on all weighing days. They also had significantly lower indices of variability and survival. It is probable that, at the doses used in these studies, WP-felt cannot be considered a teratogen nor does it produce dominant lethal mutations. It might, however, cause lower birth weights and retard the rate of development in the rat.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA118682
Entities
People
- David C. Burnett
- Ronald J. Pellerin
- William C. Starke
Organizations
- United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center