In Nigeria, abattoir workers use scrap tires as a source of fuel to remove furs from slaughtered animals. The smoke from the tires contains particulate matter (PM), and inhalation of the PM is associated with undesirable toxic effects such as cardiopulmonary toxicity. This study investigated the toxicological effects of smoke from the burning tire in male Wistar rats. The experimental rats were assigned into five (5) groups of 5 rats in each group. Group 1 served as the normal control (not exposed to smokes from the burning tire), while groups 2–5 were exposed to 10 mg/m3 PM10 smoke from burning tire once daily for 15, 30, 60, and 120 min, respectively, for 21 days. The rats were sacrificed, and the toxicity profile was measured by evaluating the hematological and biochemical parameters along with the liver, heart, kidney, and lung histology. Our results showed that smokes from tire significantly (P < 0.05) decreased red blood cell, pack cell volume, hemoglobin, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase while white blood cell, platelet, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, alanine transaminase, urea, sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, and malondialdehyde significantly (P < 0.05) increased following a dose (time of exposure) dependent pattern. Histological sections of liver from the exposed rats showed prominent fatty change or steatosis, while lung sections had mild destruction of alveoli and high levels of alveolar hemorrhage. The results of this study showed that smokes from burning tires can induce oxidative stress as well as cause hepatotoxicity and renotoxicity in adult male rats.
