Toxicological profile for barium and barium compounds

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3.  HEALTH EFFECTS 

exposed to molten barium chloride may potentially have contributed to some of the reported health 

effects, which are described briefly in Section 3.2.3.2 (Systemic Effects). 

3.2.3.1  Death 

No studies were located regarding death in humans or animals after dermal exposure to barium. 

3.2.3.2  Systemic Effects  

No studies were located regarding respiratory, hematological, musculoskeletal, hepatic, renal, endocrine, 

or body weight effects in humans or animals after dermal exposure to barium. 

Cardiovascular Effects.

    An abnormal electrocardiogram was observed in a 62-year-old man burned 

by molten barium chloride (Stewart and Hummel 1984).  No studies were located regarding 

cardiovascular effects in animals after dermal exposure to barium. 

Gastrointestinal Effects.

    A 62-year-old man experienced vomiting after he was accidentally burned 

by molten barium chloride (Stewart and Hummel 1984).  No studies were located regarding 

gastrointestinal effects in animals after dermal exposure to barium. 

Dermal Effects.    

Molten barium chloride induced burns on the skin of a 62-year-old man who was 

accidentally exposed through an explosion.  The dermal burns, however, were very probably due to the 

molten nature of the material and not necessarily to barium chloride (Stewart and Hummel 1984). 

The dermal effects of barium carbonate were examined in a study with rats and rabbits (Tarasenko et al. 

1977).  When barium carbonate in lanolin was applied to the skin, ulcers developed.  These dermal 

lesions reportedly disappeared within a month when dermal treatment was discontinued.  Although these 

findings suggest that barium carbonate may be a dermal irritant, these particular investigations are 

inadequate for establishing the dermal effects of barium because of a number of significant study 

limitations.  The authors provided few details regarding experimental methods and results, and no 

information as to the concentration of barium carbonate used, the number of animals used, and whether or 

not controls were used.   

Ocular Effects.    

Information on the ocular toxicity of barium is limited to a study conducted by 

Tarasenko et al. (1977) in rats and rabbits.  When barium carbonate powder was introduced into the 

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3.  HEALTH EFFECTS 

conjunctival sac, purulent discharge, conjunctivitis, and slight opacity of the cornea developed.  As noted 

in the Dermal Effects section, interpretation of these results is limited by the poor reporting of study 

methods and results, lack of information on barium carbonate concentration, and whether controls were 

used. 

Metabolic Effects. 

A 62-year-old victim accidentally exposed to molten barium chloride had a 

depressed plasma potassium level when admitted to the hospital (Stewart and Hummel 1984).   

No studies were located regarding the following health effects in humans or animals after dermal 

exposure to barium: 

3.2.3.3  Immunological and Lymphoreticular Effects  

3.2.3.4  Neurological Effects 

3.2.3.5  Reproductive Effects  

3.2.3.6  Developmental Effects 

3.2.3.7  Cancer 

No studies were located regarding cancer in humans after dermal exposure to barium.  Dysplasia of the 

cervical epithelium was reportedly induced in a woman who had a barium chloride solution applied to her 

cervix (Ayre 1966).  The use of dimethyl sulfoxide in combination with the barium chloride solution 

reportedly enhanced the ability of barium chloride to induce dysplasia.  Dysplasia can be regarded as a 

potential precancerous lesion.  The significance of the observations reported in this study are difficult to 

assess, since only one subject was exposed and because there have been no reports of similar findings in 

other human or animal studies.  Also, the vehicle used was not specified in this study. 

No studies were located regarding cancer in animals after dermal exposure to barium.  However, results 

of one skin-painting study with mice suggest that barium hydroxide extract derived from tobacco leaf 

may act as a tumor-promoting agent (Van Duuren et al. 1968); the purity of the barium hydroxide extract 

was not reported.  In this study, mice were treated dermally for an unspecified period of time with either 

barium hydroxide extract alone, 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) alone (an initiating agent), or a 

combination of DMBA and barium hydroxide extract.  After 1 year, none of the mice treated with barium 

hydroxide extract developed skin tumors.  However, 3 out of 20 mice treated with DMBA alone and 7 out 

of 20 mice treated with a combination of both barium hydroxide extract and DMBA developed skin 

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3.  HEALTH EFFECTS 

papillomas and carcinomas.  These results provide limited, but suggestive evidence that barium hydroxide 

extract of tobacco leaf acted as a tumor-promoting agent.  However, it can not be determined whether or 

not this apparent positive tumorigenic response was due to barium hydroxide or some other component of 

the barium hydroxide tobacco leaf extract. 

3.3 

GENOTOXICITY  

In vivo studies of barium genotoxicity are limited to a study in Drosophila melanogaster.  In this study, 

positive results were found in the somatic mutation and recombination test when high levels of barium 

nitrate were used; the results were inconclusive at low barium nitrate levels (Yesilada 2001).  In vitro 

studies were limited and summarized in Table 3-2.  No significant alterations in gene mutation frequency 

were observed in Salmonella typhimurium (Monaco et al. 1990, 1991; NTP 1994) or Escherichia coli 

(Rossman et al. 1991).  Similarly, barium chloride or barium nitrate did not result in deoxyribonucleic 

acid (DNA) damage in Bacillus subtilis (Kanematsu et al. 1980; Nishioka 1975).  Tests of the fidelity of 

DNA synthesis using an avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) DNA polymerase system showed that neither 

barium acetate nor barium chloride affect the accuracy of DNA replication (Sirover and Loeb 1976a, 

1976b).  However, studies with a DNA polymerase I system from Micrococcus luteus, demonstrated that 

concentrations of barium ion ≤0.1 mM stimulated DNA polymerase activity while concentrations greater 

than this inhibited polymerase activity (Korman et al. 1978).  The significance of the inhibitory and 

stimulatory effects has not been determined.  Results from an experiment designed to test the effect of 

barium chloride on sporulation frequency, recombination frequency, and meiotic failures in 

Saccharomyces cerevisiae demonstrated a definite inhibition of sporulation.  Effects on recombination 

frequency and meiotic failures were ambiguous.  Barium chloride may have caused a marginal increase in 

recombination frequency and information of diploid clones (Sora et al. 1986), but the data are 

inconclusive.  In mammalian test systems, barium chloride did not increase the frequency of sister 

chromatid exchange or chromosome aberrations in Chinese hamster cells (NTP 1994).  However, an 

increase in gene mutations was observed at the TK locus of L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells in the 

presence of metabolic activation, but not without metabolic activation (NTP 1994).   

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