Sodium dichloroisocyanurate toxicity in rats during a 90-day inhalation toxicity study

Sodium dichloroisocyanurate-96% (NaDCC) is commonly used to treat drinking water, industrial water, and wastewater. However, exposure to NaDCC by inhalation can have toxic pulmonary effects in humans. In the present study, we evaluated the potential toxicity of NaDCC following a 90-day inhalation toxicity study in Sprague-Dawley/Crl:CD (SD) rats. The animals were exposed to 0.4, 2.0, or 10.0 mg/m³ NaDCC for 90 days. In addition, male and female rats from the 10.0 mg/m³ group were set up as the recovery group for 14 days. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid showed a concentration-dependent increase in the total cell count, with a significant increase in neutrophils in both the sexes in the 10.0 mg/m³ group compared to the negative control group. In the 10.0 mg/m³ group, lung organ weight was significantly increased among the female rats. Histopathological examination showed eosinophilic droplets in the olfactory/respiratory epithelium, mucous cell hyperplasia, atrophy/degeneration of the tracheal branches, and wall thickening of the alveolar ducts in the nasal cavity of both sexes in the 10.0 mg/m³ group. The adverse effects of NaDCC exposure were observed to decrease during the 14-day recovery period in both sexes. Based on pathological observations, the “no observed adverse effect concentration (NOAEC)” of inhaled NaDCC was 2.0 mg/m³ for both sexes. These results are expected to provide a scientific basis for inhalation toxicity data of NaDCC.