Mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of aluminium and aluminium compounds

The positive results obtained with aluminium compounds administered to laboratory animals cannot be considered as demonstration of their carcinogenic properties. In addition, no epidemiological evidence has been provided that aluminium exposure represents a carcinogenic hazard to man and observations suggesting some increase in cancer rate have always been performed on very limited populations and/or on humans exposed simultaneously to nickel and chromium. The evident lack of carcinogenic properties of aluminium and aluminium compounds is to be related to the negative results they gave in most short-term mutagenic assays. Due probably to an interference with microtubule polymerisation some aluminium compounds appear, however, able to produce chromosome anomalies in plant material.