Distribution Characteristics of Rare Earth Elements in Children's Scalp Hair from a Rare Earths Mining Area in Southern China

Selective removal of lanthanides from natural waters, acidic streams and dialysate

“…mining), and increased public exposure to the lanthanides, both from various commercial products and from production wastes/effluents. Increased mining activity has been shown to result in increased rare earth releases and mobility, whether this mining is of the rare earth materials themselves [15], of other metals [16–19] or even coal [20,21]. In regions with high levels of rare earth elements (REE), elevated levels of REE are found in humans [15,22], and other organisms [23].…”

TIMS analysis of neodymium isotopes in human tooth enamel using 1013Ω amplifiers

“…4, Table 5) are consistent with the limited published data that concluded that Nd concentrations in human teeth are below 0.1 ppm. 22 The results of this study show that Nd concentration in enamel is generally lower than in other human tissues such as hair, nails, bone, blood, and soft tissues (see Table 2), although low values have also been reported for hair, 36 urine and blood. 35 The mean Nd concentration in rib bone (11 ppb) 39 is more than three times higher than in enamel.…”

Rare earth elements in human and animal health: State of art and research priorities

“…Three studies measured REE levels in scalp hair from children and their mothers residing at different distances from mining sites in Southern China, and found a significant correlation between Ce scalp accumulation and distances from mining sites (Peng et al, 2003;Tong et al, 2004;Wei et al, 2013). A study by Zhu et al (2005), also conducted on residents at different distances from REE mining sites, showed that residents in contaminated areas with heavy (HREE) or light (LREE) REE had significantly lower serum total protein and globulin levels compared to controls, and residents in the HREE area had significantly elevated IgM levels vs. LREE residents.…”

“…Occupational exposures to REE dusts have been associated with observations of pneumoconiosis since early case reports (Sabbioni et al, 1982). Non-occupational, environmental REE exposures have been reported by a few studies of populations residing in REE mining areas that reported REE accumulation as related to distance from mining areas (Peng et al, 2003;Tong et al, 2004), or associated REE exposure with changes in serologic endpoints (Zhu et al, 2005). A recognized iatrogenic exposure consists of gadolinium (Gd) use as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging, up to reports on renal toxicity (nephrogenic systemic fibrosis) in the last decade (Thomsen, 2006;Chien et al, 2011;Bernstein et al, 2012).…”