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Watts MJ, Argyraki A, Barbieri M, Brown A, Button M, Finkelman R, Gibson G, Humphrey O, Huo X, Hursthouse AS, Kaninga B, Marinho Reis P, Middleton DRS, Morton-Bermea O, Nazarpour A, Olatunji AS, Osano O, Potgieter-Vermaak S, Prater C, Torrance K, Wong MH, Zhang C, Zia M. Editorial: The society for environmental geochemistry and health (SEGH): 50 years and beyond. Environ Geochem Health 2023; 45:1165-1171. [PMID: 35044549 PMCID: PMC8768439 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-021-01192-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
When the SEGH international board released a short editorial paper back in 2019, we described an aim to increase the membership offering, whilst improving the diversity of input regionally, by scientific discipline and to ensure greater and more regular contact across the regions from 2020 onwards. Wider aspirations described in 2019 (Watts et al. 2019) are discussed within this short communication at the end of 2021 to evaluate progress made. In particular, how the SEGH community adapted to the unprecedented circumstances that have challenged each and every one of us throughout the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020 and are likely to influence our activities for the foreseeable future.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. J. Watts
- Inorganic Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
| | - A. Argyraki
- Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | | | - A. Brown
- SEGH, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
| | - M. Button
- University British Columbia, Kalowna, Canada
| | | | - G. Gibson
- Gibson Consulting and Training, Tarporley, UK
| | - O. Humphrey
- Inorganic Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
| | - X. Huo
- School of Environment, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | | | - B. Kaninga
- Zambia Agriculture Research Institute, Mount Makulu Central Research Station, P/B 7, Chilanga, Zambia
| | - P. Marinho Reis
- Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Escola de Ciências, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtarl, Braga, Portugal
| | - D. R. S. Middleton
- Centre for Public Health, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - O. Morton-Bermea
- Instituto ed Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - A. Nazarpour
- Department of Geology, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - A. S. Olatunji
- Department of Geology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - O. Osano
- Department of Environmental Biology and Health, School of Environmental Studies, University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya
| | | | - C. Prater
- Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, USA
| | | | - M. H. Wong
- The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - C. Zhang
- National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
| | - M. Zia
- Fauji Fertiliser Company Ltd, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
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Watts MJ, Humphrey OS, Middleton DRS. SEGH live and beyond. Environ Geochem Health 2021; 43:2799-2801. [PMID: 32970295 PMCID: PMC7511523 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-020-00722-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- M. J. Watts
- Inorganic Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
| | - O. S. Humphrey
- Inorganic Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
| | - D. R. S. Middleton
- Section of Environment and Radiation, International Agency for Research Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France
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Humphrey OS, Middleton DRS, Ahmad S, Cocerva T, Dowell SM, Garza-Galndo R, Hamilton EM, Kafwamfwa N, Kaninga B, Kourgia P, Ligowe IS, MacLeod HA, Mafulul SG, Marriott AL, McLellan IS, Meso DN, Munthali K, Niepsch D, Rodgers KJ, Song N, Tait AJ, Woods C. The Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health (SEGH): building for the future of early career researchers. Environ Geochem Health 2021; 43:2455-2458. [PMID: 32613477 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-020-00620-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- O S Humphrey
- Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, Inorganic Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK.
| | - D R S Middleton
- Section of Environment and Radiation, International Agency for Research Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France.
| | - S Ahmad
- Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - T Cocerva
- School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - S M Dowell
- Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, Inorganic Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - R Garza-Galndo
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - E M Hamilton
- Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, Inorganic Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
| | - N Kafwamfwa
- Zambia Agriculture Research Institute, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - B Kaninga
- Zambia Agriculture Research Institute, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - P Kourgia
- Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, NKUA, Athens, Greece
| | - I S Ligowe
- Department of Agricultural Research Services, Chitedze Research Station, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - H A MacLeod
- Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada
| | - S G Mafulul
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria
| | - A L Marriott
- Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, Inorganic Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
| | | | - D N Meso
- Department of Environmental Biology and Health, University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - K Munthali
- Soil Microbiology Unit, Zambia Agricultural Research Institute, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - D Niepsch
- Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, Inorganic Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
| | - K J Rodgers
- University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK
| | - N Song
- University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK
| | - A J Tait
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Williamson Research Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - C Woods
- University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK
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Middleton DRS, Watts MJ, Hamilton EM, Coe JD, Fletcher T, Crabbe H, Close R, Leonardi GS, Polya DA. Surface wipe and bulk sampling of household dust: arsenic exposure in Cornwall, UK. Environ Sci Process Impacts 2018; 20:505-512. [PMID: 29387854 DOI: 10.1039/c7em00463j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Dust elemental levels can be expressed as concentrations (bulk samples) or surface loadings (wipe samples). Wipe sampling has not been widely adopted for elements other than lead (Pb). In this study, 433 wipe samples from 130 households in south west England - a region of widespread, natural and anthropogenic arsenic contamination linked with previous mining activities-were analysed to (i) quantify loadings of arsenic (As); (ii) assess the quality of wipe data using QA/QC criteria; (iii) estimate, using published ingestion rates, human exposure to As in dust using loadings and concentrations from 97 bulk samples and (iv) comparatively assess the performance of wipe and bulk sampling using associations with As biomonitoring data (urine, toenails and hair). Good QC performance was observed for wipes: strong agreement between field duplicates, non-detectable contamination of field blank wipes and good reference material recoveries. Arsenic loadings exceeded an existing urban background benchmark in 67 (52%) households. No exceedances of tolerable daily As intake were observed for adult exposure estimates but infant estimates exceeded for 1 household. Infant estimates calculated using bulk concentrations resulted in 4 (3%) exceedances. Neither wipe nor bulk As metrics were sufficiently better predictors of As in biospecimens. Sampling strategies, analytical protocols, exposure metrics and assessment criteria require refinement to validate dust sampling methodologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- D R S Middleton
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK and Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK and Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - M J Watts
- Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
| | - E M Hamilton
- Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
| | - J D Coe
- Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
| | - T Fletcher
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - H Crabbe
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - R Close
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - G S Leonardi
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - D A Polya
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
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Middleton DRS, Watts MJ, Hamilton EM, Fletcher T, Leonardi GS, Close RM, Exley KS, Crabbe H, Polya DA. Prolonged exposure to arsenic in UK private water supplies: toenail, hair and drinking water concentrations. Environ Sci Process Impacts 2016; 18:562-74. [PMID: 27120003 DOI: 10.1039/c6em00072j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Chronic exposure to arsenic (As) in drinking water is an established cause of cancer and other adverse health effects. Arsenic concentrations >10 μg L(-1) were previously measured in 5% of private water supplies (PWS) in Cornwall, UK. The present study investigated prolongued exposure to As by measuring biomarkers in hair and toenail samples from 212 volunteers and repeated measurements of As in drinking water from 127 households served by PWS. Strong positive Pearson correlations (rp = 0.95) indicated stability of water As concentrations over the time period investigated (up to 31 months). Drinking water As concentrations were positively correlated with toenail (rp = 0.53) and hair (rp = 0.38) As concentrations - indicative of prolonged exposure. Analysis of washing procedure solutions provided strong evidence of the effective removal of exogenous As from toenail samples. Significantly higher As concentrations were measured in hair samples from males and smokers and As concentrations in toenails were negatively associated with age. A positive association between seafood consumption and toenail As and a negative association between home-grown vegetable consumption and hair As was observed for volunteers exposed to <1 As μg L(-1) in drinking water. These findings have important implications regarding the interpretation of toenail and hair biomarkers. Substantial variation in biomarker As concentrations remained unaccounted for, with soil and dust exposure as possible explanations.
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Affiliation(s)
- D R S Middleton
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences & William Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
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Middleton DRS, Watts MJ, Hamilton EM, Ander EL, Close RM, Exley KS, Crabbe H, Leonardi GS, Fletcher T, Polya DA. Urinary arsenic profiles reveal exposures to inorganic arsenic from private drinking water supplies in Cornwall, UK. Sci Rep 2016; 6:25656. [PMID: 27156998 PMCID: PMC4860641 DOI: 10.1038/srep25656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2015] [Accepted: 04/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Private water supplies (PWS) in Cornwall, South West England exceeded the current WHO guidance value and UK prescribed concentration or value (PCV) for arsenic of 10 μg/L in 5% of properties surveyed (n = 497). In this follow-up study, the first of its kind in the UK, volunteers (n = 207) from 127 households who used their PWS for drinking, provided urine and drinking water samples for total As determination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and urinary As speciation by high performance liquid chromatography ICP-MS (HPLC-ICP-MS). Arsenic concentrations exceeding 10 μg/L were found in the PWS of 10% of the volunteers. Unadjusted total urinary As concentrations were poorly correlated (Spearman's ρ = 0.36 (P < 0.001)) with PWS As largely due to the use of spot urine samples and the dominance of arsenobetaine (AB) from seafood sources. However, the osmolality adjusted sum, U-As(IMM), of urinary inorganic As species, arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)), and their metabolites, methylarsonate (MA) and dimethylarsinate (DMA), was found to strongly correlate (Spearman's ρ: 0.62 (P < 0.001)) with PWS As, indicating private water supplies as the dominant source of inorganic As exposure in the study population of PWS users.
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Affiliation(s)
- D R S Middleton
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences &Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, NG12 5GG, UK
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - M J Watts
- Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, NG12 5GG, UK
| | - E M Hamilton
- Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, NG12 5GG, UK
| | - E L Ander
- Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nicker Hill, Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, NG12 5GG, UK
| | - R M Close
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - K S Exley
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - H Crabbe
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - G S Leonardi
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - T Fletcher
- Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE), Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RQ, UK
| | - D A Polya
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences &Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
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