Carcinogenesis Tests of Nickel Arsenides, Nickel Antimonide, and Nickel Telluride in Rats

Abstract

Carcinogenicity of nickel arsenides (NiAs, Ni₁₁As₈, Ni₅As₂, NiAsS), nickel antimonide (NiSb), and nickel telluride (NiTe) was tested by IM administration to male Fischer rats (14 mg Ni/rat). Three negative control groups received similar IM injections of glycerol vehicle, ferronickel alloy (NiFe), or nickel titanate (NiTiO₃); two positive control groups received nickel oxide (NiO) or ferronickel sulfide (Ni₄FeS₄) at equivalent dosages (14 mg Ni/rat). Within 2 years, the incidences of sarcomas at the injection site were: 0120 (0%) in NiAs-treated rats, 8/16 (50%) in Ni₁₁As₈-treated rats; 17/20 (85%) in Ni₅As₂-treated rats; 14/16 (85%) in NiAsS-treated rats; 17/29 (59%) in NiSb-treated rats; and 14/26 (54%) in NiTe-treated rats. No local sarcomas occurred in the negative control groups, including 40 glycerol-treated rats, 16 NiFe-treated rats, and 20 NiTiO₃-treated rats; in the positive control groups, local sarcomas occurred in 14/15 (93%) of NiO-treated rats and 15/15 (100%) of Ni₄FeS₄-treated rats. The 99 sarcomas that were induced by the various nickel compounds included 67 rhabdomyosarcomas, 11 fibrosarcomas, 15 osteosarcomas, 1 fibrous histiocytic sarcoma, and 5 undifferentiated sarcomas; metastases were found in 57 sarcoma-bearing rats. This study demonstrates that Ni₁₁As₈, Ni₅As₂, NiAsS, NiSb, and NiTe are carcinogenic for rats. Since Ni₁₁As₈, Ni₅As₂, and NiAsS are likely to be formed during oil shale retorting, environmental contamination by nickel arsenides in spent shale products could conceivably pose a carcinogenic hazard if large-scale production of petroleum from oil share is established.