The exposure characterisation described in this paper for 135 copper refinery workers (45 females, 90 males) focuses on the concentrations of copper, nickel and other trace elements in the inhalable aerosol fractions, as well as in the water-soluble and water-insoluble subfractions. Some information is also provided on the thoracic and respirable aerosol fractions. Further, results are presented for volatile hydrides of arsenic and selenium released in the copper purification steps of the electrorefining process. For the pyrometallurgical operations, a comparison of the geometric means for the inhalable aerosol fraction indicated that water-soluble copper levels were on average 19-fold higher compared to nickel (p < 0.001) and a significant association was evident between them (r = 0.87, p < 0.001); for the insoluble subfraction, the copper : nickel ratio was 12.5 (p < 0.001) and the inter-element correlation had r = 0.98 and p < 0.001. Although for the electrorefinery workers the relative inhalable concentrations of copper and nickel were not significantly different (p > 0.05), the corresponding inter-element associations were: slope of 7.7, r= 0.54, p < or =0.001 for the water-soluble subfraction and slope of 1.3, r = 0.71 and p < or =0.001 for the water-insoluble subfraction. On average, a good proportion of the inhalable copper and nickel were found in the thoracic (40%) and respirable (20%) aerosol fractions. Cobalt air concentrations were generally low with geometric means and 95% confidence intervals of 3.1 (2.4-4.2)microg m(-3) (pyrometallurgical workers) and 0.3 (0.4-0.5) microg m(-3)(electrorefinery workers). Similarly, the maximum concentrations of cadmium and lead were low, respectively 4 and 25 microg m(-3). Of the hydrides, tellurium and antimony could not be detected, but for the arsenic (arsine) and selenium hydrides measurable exposure occurred for almost all electrorefinery workers, although the levels were generally low at 0.2 microg m(-3).
Introduction: Mineral content of tap water vary significantly between settings and may affect blood mineral composition in humans. The evidence from Arctic Russian settings is scarce. Aim: To assess blood mineral composition among residents of areas with low mineralization of water from underground sources distributed by centralized water supply systems in Arctic Russia. Methods: The study was performed in the town of Kirovsk, Murmansk region. Only permanent residents of the town aged 18-23 years participated. Concentrations of Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Si, Sn, Sr, Ti, Tl, V, Zn, Y in tap water and whole blood were determined by atomic emission spectrometry. Results: Tap water in Kirovsk has an increased pH value, with a total mineralization of 65.0 mg/l with the legal limit of 1000 mg/l). Magnesium and calcium concentrations were 1 000-1 500 and 150-300 times below maximum permissible (MPC) concentrations, re spectively. The concentration of aluminum exceeded MPC by 30-50 % while concentrations of other elements were tens to hundreds times below MPC. In blood, calcium concentration was slightly below the average value for healthy individuals while and the magnesium content corresponded to normal values. An increased concentration of boron (2.45 ± 0.11 mg/l) was revealed. Conclusions: Contrary to expectations, residents of the area with low mineral content of tap water did not have a significant decrease in concentrations of calcium and magnesium in whole blood. No signs of increased concentration of heavy metals in blood of the residents were observed. Despite the high concentration of aluminum in water, its concentration in whole blood is within the physiological limits. At the same time, an increased blood concentration of boron was revealed warranting further research.
Population process in dynamic development ongoing in Murmansk Region (located beyond the Arctic Circle on the territory of the European part of the Russian Federation Arctic zone in the period 2001-2015 has been characterized in the paper. Major features of natural population movement (fertility, mortality) including labor potential have been esteemed. A major loss of labor potential was due to population decline (22,4 %), despite positive increase in 1.38 times of the total fertility rate and life expectancy among men up to 64,0 years, women - 75,7 years. It is shown that mortality increase was registered in the region among males of working age from disease that could be connected not only with Arctic climate and geographic conditions but also with labor conditions on industrial complex production of Kola Arctic Circle. The rate of diseases of respiratory and circulatory systems as well as malignant neoplasms increased in monotowns in Murmansk Region. 93 % of population is urban, which is a source of labor for city forming enterprise. Proportion of people working in harmful exposure in the industrial complex enterprises was: men- 68,0 %, women - 36,8 %, including enterprises engaged in the extraction of commercial minerals: men - 78,7, women - 50,0 %.
Natural background radiation (NBR) largely contributes to the human inhalation of radionuclides originating from the decay of U-238, U-235 and Th-232 isotopes. This problem is of particular importance for public health in the areas with high seismicity induced by mining operations. The purpose of this article was to assess the impact of mining activities on NBR in the residential and public buildings located in the immediate vicinity of the apatite-nepheline ore mining operations in the Arctic. Materials and methods. The measurements were taken in residential and public buildings of Kirovsk (Murmansk Region) adjacent to open-pit and underground mines. The following were measured: total radioactivity dose of samples of raw ores and their concentrates, their spectral characteristics, as well as the aerosol concentration of radon decay products, and volumetric radon concentration in the basements of residential and public buildings located within 3 km from the mining area. Results. The radioactivity of open-pit ore was significantly (7.3 times) higher than that from underground mines (107,300 ± 9823 and 14,615 ± 1980 Bq/kg, respectively). However, the radioactivity of the final product (apatite concentrate) did not depend on the extraction technique (59,792 ± 865 and 61,827 ± 1022 Bq/kg, respectively). Indoor air concentrations of radon in the basements of buildings located up to 3 km from the mines, increased linearly by an average of 0.15 Bq/m3 for each ton of explosives used in ore breaking. The levels of radon and its decay products in residential and public buildings in areas adjacent to the mining operations did not exceed 100 Bq/m3. Thus, mining and blasting operations in the stress-strain state of ore-bearing rocks might have an important impact on the intensity of radionuclide emissions and changes in NBR inside residential and public buildings located in Arctic settlements adjacent to the areas of apatite-nepheline ore mining.
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