Health Effects of Atmospheric Sulfur Dioxide and Dietary Sulfites

Abstract

Some animal studies have shown that exposure to low levels of sulfur dioxide and dietary bisulfite is relatively harmless. To the contrary, sulfite oxidase deficiency is known in man, bisulfite is mutagenic for several test organisms, and the atmospheric SO2 level is positively correlated with death rates for several chronic diseases among some human populations. The studies reporting harmlessness for animals may be misleading because of the fallacy of typology.