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Ondayo MA, Watts MJ, Humphrey OS, Osano O. Public health assessment of Kenyan ASGM communities using multi-element biomonitoring, dietary and environmental evaluation. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2024; 277:116323. [PMID: 38653024 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
The Kakamega gold belt's natural geological enrichment and artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) have resulted in food and environmental pollution, human exposure, and subsequent risks to health. This study aimed to characterise exposure pathways and risks among ASGM communities. Human hair, nails, urine, water, and staple food crops were collected and analysed from 144 ASGM miners and 25 people from the ASGM associated communities. Exposure to PHEs was predominantly via drinking water from mine shafts, springs and shallow-wells (for As>Pb>Cr>Al), with up to 366 µg L-1 arsenic measured in shaft waters consumed by miners. Additional exposure was via consumption of locally grown crops (for As>Ni>Pb>Cr>Cd>Hg>Al) besides inhalation of Hg vapour and dust, and direct dermal contact with Hg. Urinary elemental concentrations for both ASGM workers and wider ASGM communities were in nearly all cases above bioequivalents and reference upper thresholds for As, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb and Sb, with median concentrations of 12.3, 0.4, 1.6, 5.1, 0.7 and 0.15 µg L-1, respectively. Urinary As concentrations showed a strong positive correlation (0.958) with As in drinking water. This study highlighted the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in integrating environmental, dietary, and public health investigations to better characterise the hazards and risks associated with ASGM and better understand the trade-offs associated with ASGM activities relating to public health and environmental sustainability. Further research is crucial, and study results have been shared with Public Health and Environmental authorities to inform mitigation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureene Auma Ondayo
- Department of Environmental Health and Biology, University of Eldoret, P.O Box 1125, Eldoret, Kenya; Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
| | - Michael J Watts
- Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK.
| | - Olivier S Humphrey
- Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
| | - Odipo Osano
- Department of Environmental Health and Biology, University of Eldoret, P.O Box 1125, Eldoret, Kenya
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Bickley LM, Martell J, Cowan D, Wilken D, Yan W, McNeill FE, Zarnke A, Hedges K, Chettle DR. Bone aluminum measured in miners exposed to McIntyre powder. JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE 2022; 19:335-342. [PMID: 35452589 DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2022.2063876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
A small pilot study was conducted to test whether the technique of in vivo neutron activation analysis could measure bone aluminum levels in 15 miners who had been exposed to McIntyre Powder over 40 years prior. All miners were over 60 years of age, had worked in mines that used McIntyre Powder, and were sufficiently healthy to travel from northern to southern Ontario for the measurements. Individual aluminum levels were found to be significantly greater than zero with 95% confidence (p < 0.05) in 7 out of the 15 miners. The inverse variance weighted mean of the 15 participants was 21.77 ± 2.27µgAl/gCa. This was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than in a group of 15 non-occupationally exposed subjects of a comparable age from Southern Ontario who had been measured in a previous study. The inverse variance weighted mean bone aluminum content in the non-occupationally exposed group was 3.51 ± 0.85µgAl/gCa. Since the use of McIntyre Powder ceased in 1979, these subjects had not been exposed for more than 40 years. Calculations of potential levels at the cessation of exposure in the 1970s, using a biological half-life of aluminum in bone of 10 to 20 years predicted levels of bone aluminum comparable with studies performed in dialysis patients in the 1970s and 1980s. This pilot study has shown that the neutron activation analysis technique can determine differences in bone aluminum between McIntyre Powder exposed and non-exposed populations even though 40 years have passed since exposure ceased. The technique has potential application as a biomarker of exposure in cross-sectional studies of the health consequences of exposure to McIntyre Powder.
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Affiliation(s)
- L M Bickley
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - J Martell
- Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | - D Cowan
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - D Wilken
- Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | - W Yan
- Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | - F E McNeill
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - A Zarnke
- Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
- Laurentian University, School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Sudbury, ON, Canada
- Center for Research for Occupational Safety and Health, Sudbury, ON, Canada
| | - K Hedges
- Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | - D R Chettle
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Sáez C, Sánchez A, Yusà V, Dualde P, Fernández SF, López A, Corpas-Burgos F, Aguirre MÁ, Coscollà C. Health Risk Assessment of Exposure to 15 Essential and Toxic Elements in Spanish Women of Reproductive Age: A Case Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:13012. [PMID: 34948623 PMCID: PMC8701213 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182413012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This case study investigates the exposure of 119 Spanish women of reproductive age to 5 essential (Co, Cu, Mn, V, Zn) and 10 toxic (Ba, Be, Cs, Ni, Pb, Pt, Sb, Th, Al, U) elements and assesses their risk. The essential elements (Co, Cu, Mn, V, and Zn) showed average concentrations (GM: geometric mean) of 0.8, 35, 0.5, 0.2, and 347 μg/L, respectively. Five of the toxic elements (Ba, Cs, Ni, Al, U) exhibited detection frequencies of 100%. The GM concentrations of the novel toxic elements were 12 μg/L (Al), 0.01 μg/L (Pt), 0.02 μg/L (U), 0.12 μg/L (Th), 0.009 μg/L (Be) and 4 μg/L (Cs). The urine analysis was combined with a survey to assess any variations between subgroups and potential predictors of exposure to elements in the female population. Significant differences were obtained between the rural and urban areas studied for the toxic element Cs, with higher levels found in mothers living in urban areas. In relation to diet, statistically significantly higher levels of essential (Cu) and toxic (Ba) elements were detected in women with a high consumption of fish, while mothers who consumed a large quantity of legumes presented higher levels of the toxic element Ni (p = 0.0134). In a risk-assessment context, hazard quotients (HQs) greater than 1 were only observed for the essential elements Zn and Cu in P95. No deficiency was found regarding the only essential element for which a biomonitoring equivalent for nutritional deficit is available (Zn). For the less-studied toxic elements (Al, Pt, U, Th, Be, and Cs), HQs were lower than 1, and thus, the health risk due to exposure to these elements is expected to be low for the female population under study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Sáez
- Public Health Laboratory of Alicante, 6 Plaza de España, 03010 Alicante, Spain; (C.S.); (A.S.)
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Science, Institute of Materials, University of Alicante, 03080 Alicante, Spain;
| | - Alfredo Sánchez
- Public Health Laboratory of Alicante, 6 Plaza de España, 03010 Alicante, Spain; (C.S.); (A.S.)
| | - Vicent Yusà
- Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, 21, Avenida Catalunya, 46020 Valencia, Spain; (V.Y.); (P.D.); (S.F.F.); (A.L.); (F.C.-B.)
- Public Health Laboratory of Valencia, 21, Avenida Catalunya, 46020 Valencia, Spain
- Analytical Chemistry Department, University of Valencia, Edifici Jeroni Muñoz, Dr. Moliner 50, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
| | - Pablo Dualde
- Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, 21, Avenida Catalunya, 46020 Valencia, Spain; (V.Y.); (P.D.); (S.F.F.); (A.L.); (F.C.-B.)
| | - Sandra F. Fernández
- Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, 21, Avenida Catalunya, 46020 Valencia, Spain; (V.Y.); (P.D.); (S.F.F.); (A.L.); (F.C.-B.)
- Analytical Chemistry Department, University of Valencia, Edifici Jeroni Muñoz, Dr. Moliner 50, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
| | - Antonio López
- Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, 21, Avenida Catalunya, 46020 Valencia, Spain; (V.Y.); (P.D.); (S.F.F.); (A.L.); (F.C.-B.)
| | - Francisca Corpas-Burgos
- Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, 21, Avenida Catalunya, 46020 Valencia, Spain; (V.Y.); (P.D.); (S.F.F.); (A.L.); (F.C.-B.)
| | - Miguel Ángel Aguirre
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Science, Institute of Materials, University of Alicante, 03080 Alicante, Spain;
| | - Clara Coscollà
- Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, FISABIO-Public Health, 21, Avenida Catalunya, 46020 Valencia, Spain; (V.Y.); (P.D.); (S.F.F.); (A.L.); (F.C.-B.)
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