EVALUATION OF THE SENSORY IRRITATION TEST FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL-HEALTH RISK

Many occupational exposure limits (OELs) are based on irritation. A sensory irritation test has been developed based on trigeminal nerve stimulation in the nasal mucosa of rodents which results in a decreased respiratory frequency. The RD50, the concentration inducing a 50% decrease in the respiratory rate, was proposed for the assessment of OELs. The reproducibility within one laboratory appeared to be satisfactory, but interlaboratory differences may be larger. Intra- and inter-species differences were inconsistent. Other effects (pulmonary irritation, toxicity) may interfere with trigeminal nerve stimulation. The effects of mixed and repeated exposures (the occurrence of "sensitization" and "(cross-)tolerance") are evaluated. Severe toxicity was observed in animals exposed below the RD50 for some compounds. A quantitative evaluation with respect to human data was not possible. The suitability of the test for the assessment of an OEL is doubted. The best purpose will be as an upper range-finding study for subacute or chronic toxicity experiments.