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Troudi N, Tzoraki O, Hamzaoui-Azaza F, Melki F, Zammouri M. Estimating adults and children's potential health risks to heavy metals in water through ingestion and dermal contact in a rural area, Northern Tunisia. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:56792-56813. [PMID: 35347609 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-19667-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
High concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) in water (e.g., As, Cr, and Cd) are harmful to human health, especially to children. HMs' (As, Cd, Mn, Fe, Cu, Hg, Zn, Cr, and Se) values have been determined from the water of the Guenniche plain (Tunisia); then the carcinogenic risk (CR) and non-carcinogenic Risk (N-CR) were estimated through ingestion and dermal contact for adults and children. The analysis results show that the Hg, As, and Cd in 50% of the ephemeral streams (ESs) exceeded one of the WHO and NT guidelines for safe water, as is the case with Hg and Cd in 25% of the shallow groundwater wells (SGW). In all samples, the N-CR of all HMs, and the CR due to the dermal contact controlled by As, for both age brackets, are deemed to fall far short of the threshold set by USEPA. The CR due to the ingestion pathway caused by As, Cr, and Cd contamination indicates a "high" to "very high" risk on its users in roughly 50% of all the samples (ESs and SGW) for both age brackets by exceeding 10-5. Overall, the SGW samples close to the floodplain area of the ESs pose a real CR to both age groups, which is more serious for children. Therefore, the SGW are not recommended for drinking use, with an urgent call for a solution by the policy-makers to improve the water quality of the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nizar Troudi
- Laboratory of Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology (SBPG), Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, LR18 ES07, 1060, Tunis, Tunisia.
| | - Ourania Tzoraki
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of the Aegean, 81100, Mytilene, Greece
| | - Fadoua Hamzaoui-Azaza
- Laboratory of Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology (SBPG), Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, LR18 ES07, 1060, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Fatheddine Melki
- Laboratory of Geodynamics, Geo-Digital and Geomaterials (GGSA) Lab3G, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 1060, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Mounira Zammouri
- Laboratory of Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology (SBPG), Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, LR18 ES07, 1060, Tunis, Tunisia
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McIntyre T, Whiting MJ. Increased metal concentrations in giant sungazer lizards (Smaug giganteus) from mining areas in South Africa. ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY 2012; 63:574-585. [PMID: 22926308 DOI: 10.1007/s00244-012-9795-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2011] [Accepted: 07/28/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Environmental contaminants from anthropogenic activity such as mining can have profound health effects on the animals living in adjacent areas. We investigated whether inorganic contaminants associated with gold-mining waste discharges were accumulated by a threatened species of lizard, Smaug giganteus, in South Africa. Lizards were sampled from two mining sites and two control sites. Blood samples from the most contaminated mining site had significantly greater concentrations of lithium, sodium, aluminum, sulfur, silicon, chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper, tungsten, and bismuth than the remaining sites. Contaminant concentrations were not significantly related to lizard body condition, although these relationships were consistently negative. The adult sex ratio of the population inhabiting the most contaminated site also deviated from an expected 1:1 ratio in favour of female lizards. We demonstrate that lizards at these mining sites contained high concentrations of heavy metals that may be imposing as yet poorly understood costs to these lizards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor McIntyre
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.
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Zolnikov TR. Limitations in small artisanal gold mining addressed by educational components paired with alternative mining methods. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2012; 419:1-6. [PMID: 22297251 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2011] [Revised: 01/06/2012] [Accepted: 01/07/2012] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Current solutions continue to be inadequate in addressing the longstanding, worldwide problem of mercury emissions from small artisanal gold mining. Mercury, an inexpensive and easily accessible heavy metal, is used in the process of extracting gold from ore. Mercury emissions disperse, affecting human populations by causing adverse health effects and environmental and social ramifications. Many developing nations have sizable gold ore deposits, making small artisanal gold mining a major source of employment in the world. Poverty drives vulnerable, rural populations into gold mining because of social and economic instabilities. Educational programs responding to this environmental hazard have been implemented in the past, but have had low positive results due to lack of governmental support and little economic incentive. Educational and enforced intervention programs must be developed in conjunction with governmental agencies in order to successfully eliminate this ongoing problem. Industry leaders offered hopeful suggestions, but revealed limitations when trying to develop encompassing solutions to halt mercury emissions. This research highlights potential options that have been attempted in the past and suggests alternative solutions to improve upon these methods. Some methods include buyer impact recognition, risk assessment proposals exposing a cost-benefit analysis and toxicokinetic modeling, public health awareness campaigns, and the education of miners, healthcare workers, and locals within hazardous areas of mercury exposure. These methods, paired with the implementation of alternative mining techniques, propose a substantial reduction of mercury emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara R Zolnikov
- Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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Picado F, Bengtsson G. Temporal and spatial distribution of waterborne mercury in a gold miner's river. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 14:2746-54. [DOI: 10.1039/c2em30203a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Zhang Y, Li W, Sun J, Zhang R, Wu B, Zhang X, Cheng S. NMR-based metabolic profiling for serum of mouse exposed to source water. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2011; 20:1065-1070. [PMID: 21400091 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-011-0626-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/19/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
(1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based metabonomic method was used to characterize the profile of low-molecular-weight endogenous metabolites in mouse (Mus musculus) serum following exposure to Taihu Lake source water for 90 days. The (1)H NMR spectra of mice sera were recoded and a total of 21 metabolites were identified. Data reduction and latent biomarkers identification were processed by pattern recognition (PR) analysis. The principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) identified differences in metabolic profiles between control and treatment groups. A number of serum metabolic perturbations were observed in sera of source water treatment mice compared to control mice, including decreased levels of acetone, pyruvate, glutamine, lysine and citrate. These results indicated that Taihu Lake source water could induce energy metabolism changes in mouse related to fatty acid β-oxidation, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, citric acid cycle, and metabolism of some amino acids. (1)H NMR-based metabolic profiling provides new insight into the toxic effect of Taihu Lake source water, and suggests potential biomarkers for noninvasive monitoring of health risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210046, People's Republic of China
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Valadez-Vega C, Zúñiga-Pérez C, Quintanar-Gómez S, Morales-González JA, Madrigal-Santillán E, Villagómez-Ibarra JR, Sumaya-Martínez MT, García-Paredes JD. Lead, cadmium and cobalt (Pb, Cd, and Co) leaching of glass-clay containers by pH effect of food. Int J Mol Sci 2011; 12:2336-50. [PMID: 21731445 PMCID: PMC3127121 DOI: 10.3390/ijms12042336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2011] [Revised: 03/19/2011] [Accepted: 03/29/2011] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that handcrafted glass-clay containers are a health risk because they can be contaminated by heavy metals, which can be transferred to food, thus reaching the human body to potentially cause illness. Therefore, in the present work, we evaluate the leaching of lead, cadmium, and cobalt from glass-clay containers into two types of food: tomato sauce (salsa), and chickpea puree. The containers were obtained from four regions in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. Repetitive extractions from the containers were carried out to quantify the leaching of the heavy metals into the salsa, the chickpea puree, and acetic acid using the technique proposed by the USFDA. The results show that greater use of the containers leads to more leaching of heavy metals into both types of food and into the acetic acid, with the greatest metal extraction recorded for the Ixmiquilpan vessels. These results indicate that the metals present in the glass-clay containers leach into the food and that increased reuse increases the risk to the people who use them in food preparation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Valadez-Vega
- Institute of Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, 42080 Pachuca de Soto, Hgo, Mexico; E-Mails: (C.Z.-P.); (J.A.M.-G.); (E.M.-S.)
| | - Clara Zúñiga-Pérez
- Institute of Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, 42080 Pachuca de Soto, Hgo, Mexico; E-Mails: (C.Z.-P.); (J.A.M.-G.); (E.M.-S.)
| | - Samuel Quintanar-Gómez
- Institute of Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, 42080 Pachuca de Soto, Hgo, Mexico; E-Mails: (C.Z.-P.); (J.A.M.-G.); (E.M.-S.)
| | - José A. Morales-González
- Institute of Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, 42080 Pachuca de Soto, Hgo, Mexico; E-Mails: (C.Z.-P.); (J.A.M.-G.); (E.M.-S.)
| | - Eduardo Madrigal-Santillán
- Institute of Health Sciences, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, 42080 Pachuca de Soto, Hgo, Mexico; E-Mails: (C.Z.-P.); (J.A.M.-G.); (E.M.-S.)
| | - José Roberto Villagómez-Ibarra
- Basic Science and Engineering Institute, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Ex-Hacienda de la Concepción, Tilcuautla, 42080 Pachuca de Soto, Hgo, Mexico; E-Mail:
| | - María Teresa Sumaya-Martínez
- Secretary of Research and Graduate Studies, Autonomous University of Nayarit, Ciudad de la Cultura “Amado Nervo”, Blvd. Tepic-Xalisco S/N. Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico; E-Mails: (M.T.S.-M.); (J.D.G.-P.)
| | - Juan Diego García-Paredes
- Secretary of Research and Graduate Studies, Autonomous University of Nayarit, Ciudad de la Cultura “Amado Nervo”, Blvd. Tepic-Xalisco S/N. Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico; E-Mails: (M.T.S.-M.); (J.D.G.-P.)
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