A Systematic Review Approach to Assess the Human Health Hazards of Inhalation Exposure to Vanadium and Compounds
On this page:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program is undertaking a reassessment of inhalation exposure to vanadium and compounds to update the existing IRIS assessment of vanadium pentoxide published in 1988. This IRIS assessment will be performed using systematic review methods. Inhalation exposure to vanadium and compounds can occur through polluted air or through occupational exposure and is associated with a variety of human health concerns including cancer. Existing assessments of vanadium and compounds were used as the starting point for the literature search. Literature updates were done by searching PubMed, Web of Science, and TOXNET. Studies from the searches most likely to be relevant to human health were identified using SWIFT-Review software and then screened and inventoried by two independent reviewers using DistillerSR software. Studies that met populations, exposures, comparators, and outcomes (PECO) screening criteria were identified and grouped based on study design, study population, species, health outcomes, and type of vanadium compound. Overall, 95 epidemiology studies and 31 animal studies were identified that met the PECO criteria. Epidemiology studies mostly characterized exposure to total vanadium from unknown sources, while most animal studies evaluated inhalation exposure to vanadium pentoxide. In addition, several key science issues related to inhalation exposure to vanadium and compounds were identified based on the preliminary literature survey results.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this abstract are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or the policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.