90-Day Inhalation Toxicity Study of Bio-Derived Gevo Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (SPK) in Rats with Neurotoxicity Testing and Genotoxicity Assay.

摘要

Several alternative fuel types have been certified or are undergoing certification by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), including alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) fuels. An ATJ SPK fuel from biological feedstocks developed by Gevo of Englewood CO (Gevo ATJ SPK (bio)) was used in a 90-day inhalation study with male and female Fischer 344 rats (10 rats per sex per exposure concentration). Rats were exposed to 0, 200, 700, or 2000 mg/m3 fuel in an aerosol/vapor mixture for 6 hours per day, five days per week for 70 total exposure days. No changes were seen in body weights, food consumption, and reproductive indices (vaginal cytology, sperm cell parameters). Neurobehavioral effects, evaluated by motor activity and functional observational battery (FOB) assays, were found limited to two minor changes in 2000 mg/m3 exposure group female rats (moderately higher total activity time over 60 minutes and urine stains noted during the FOB, indicating grooming changes). Mild to moderate histopathological changes were primarily found in the nasal cavity of the 2000 mg/m3 exposure group rats. In a blood reticulocyte micronucleus assay, Gevo ATJ SPK (bio) was not shown to be clastogenic. Overall, the 90-day study with Gevo (bio) ATJ SPK indicates that inhalation of Gevo (bio) fuel, alone or combined as a 50:50 blend with petroleum-derived JP-8, is unlikely to increase human health risks in the military workplace.