Abstract
Three cases of yellow atrophy of the liver have occurred in each of 3 widely separated plants and under different management within a year or two. In each instance where the illness appeared, the men were exposed to a chlorinated naphthalene heated above the melting point and giving off fumes. Yellow atrophy of the liver is a rare disease and there have been no cases reported where chlorinated naphthalene was the proven etiological agent.
The following experiments were conducted to determine if some of the chlorinated naphthalenes might produce such lesions. Three naphthalenes obtained from one of the above factories were used in this work. They are designated then as A, B, and C.
Compound A is a mixture of tri- and tetra-chlor-naphthalene. Compound B is a mixture of tetra- and penta-chlor-naphthalene and may contain some tri-chlor-naphthalene. Compound C is a mixture of penta- and hexa-chlor-naphthalene which is plasticized with a relatively small percentage of asphalt.
Groups of 5 rabbits weighing approximately 2 kilos were used in testing each substance. Thirty milligrams of the compound dissolved in 2 cc. of paraffin oil were injected subcutaneously each day until the rabbit died.
None of the animals receiving injections of “A” died. The first death in the group receiving injections of “B” died on the 12th day and all were dead by the end of the 15th day. In the group receiving “C” the first rabbit died at the end of the 12th day and the last of the group on the 26th day. None of the rabbits receiving injections of sublimate from “B” died.
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