Lubricating Oils and Cancer

Abstract

IN connexion with a recent note on emulsification,¹ Mr. W. T. Astbury has directed our attention to the | latest report of the Manchester Committee on Cancer. According to the Times abstract from this report, “the addition of a small quantity of saponifiable oil to the lubricating oil reduces markedly the number of tumours induced. No oil surpasses lanolin in this respect. The substitution of lanolin for castor oil as a protection for oil workers has markedly lessened dermatitis among them, particularly if the workers are young”. A striking parallel exists between these results and the data obtained for the removal of mixed oils from wool. It has been shown that mineral oil is extremely difficult to remove from wool by emulsification, owing to high oil-water interfacial tension and high adhesion. The difficulty can be overcome by the addition to mineral oil of polar compounds which reduce the oil-water interfacial tension without increasing adhesion so far as to make emulsification difficult. Fatty acids, and glycerides such as olive oil, were found to be ineffective compared with oleyl alcohol, which causes ready emulsi-fieation in 6 per cent concentration. Similarly, certain alcohols from lanolin may be used to confer emulsifiability on mineral oil, a mixture containing 15 per cent being emulsified with as much ease as olive oil.