Human exposure to heavy metals in the vicinity of Portuguese solid waste incinerators – Part 3: Biomonitoring of Pb in blood of children under the age of 6 years

Reis, M. Fátima; Sampaio, Carla; Brantes, Ana; Aniceto, Pedro; Melim, Marcelo; Cardoso, Liliana; Gabriel, Cátia; Simão, Filipa; Miguel, José Pereira

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2007.01.021

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…However, in the majority of cases a limited number of metals have been considered, and the sampling procedures were on blood and/or urine, thus mainly representing shortrather than long-term exposure [37][38][39][40]. Similarly, previous biomonitoring studies in exposed children only determined the body burden of few trace elements (mainly manganese [3], chromium, lead, and cadmium [41][42][43]), not considering the wide panel of metals [1,5] emitted by waste incinerators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomonitoring of Metals in Children Living in an Urban Area and Close to Waste Incinerators

Ciaula

Gentilini²,

Diella

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The impact of waste incinerators is usually examined by measuring environmental pollutants. Biomonitoring has been limited, until now, to few metals and to adults. We explored accumulation of a comprehensive panel of metals in children free-living in an urban area hosting two waste incinerators. Children were divided by georeferentiation in exposed and control groups, and toenail concentrations of 23 metals were thereafter assessed. The percentage of children having toenail metal concentrations above the limit of detection was higher in exposed children than in controls for Al, Ba, Mn, Cu, and V. Exposed children had higher absolute concentrations of Ba, Mn, Cu, and V, as compared with those living in the reference area. The Tobit regression identified living in the exposed area as a significant predictor of Ba, Ni, Cu, Mn, and V concentrations, after adjusting for covariates. The concentrations of Ba, Mn, Ni, and Cu correlated with each other, suggesting a possible common source of emission. Exposure to emissions derived from waste incinerators in an urban setting can lead to body accumulation of specific metals in children. Toenail metal concentration should be considered a noninvasive and adequate biomonitoring tool and an early warning indicator which should integrate the environmental monitoring of pollutants.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomonitoring of Metals in Children Living in an Urban Area and Close to Waste Incinerators

Ciaula

Gentilini²,

Diella

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…Several HBM studies assessed the levels of heavy metals and metalloids among the Portuguese population, namely, As, beryllium (Be), Cd, Cr, cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), Pb, manganese (Mn), Hg, Ni, selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn). Most of these studies were focused on populations living near mines [ 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 ], incinerators [ 115 , 116 , 117 ], and volcanic areas [ 118 ]; another two works studied lactating women [ 119 , 120 ]. The obtained data are presented in Figure 1 .…”

Section: Selected Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding human liquid matrices, blood presented slightly higher concentrations than breast milk, with the highest averages and maximum levels reported for Zn (708 and 1038 µg L −1 for blood; 8784 and 22,050 µg L −1 for breast milk, respectively) and Cu (666 and 2628 for blood; 666 and 2628 µg L −1 for breast milk, respectively); the lowest average values were described for Be (0.027 µg L −1 ) in breast milk and for Co (0.34 µg L −1 ) in blood ( Figure 1 B). Comparing the reported blood concentrations among the environmentally exposed and control Portuguese population cohorts with the available reference values for Cd (1.0 µg L −1 ), Pb (90 µg L −1 ) and Hg (2.0 µg L −1 ) [ 121 ], it was found that the majority of the HBM studies presented levels that surpassed the limits [ 112 , 113 , 115 , 116 , 117 ]. In urine, the highest averages and maximum concentrations were found for As (54.1 and 67.5 µg g −1 creatinine, respectively) and Se (29.6 and 31.2 µg g −1 creatinine, respectively) while the lowest levels were reported for Cd (0.6 µg g −1 creatinine) ( Figure 1 B).…”

Section: Selected Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Incinerators can potentially release heavy metals and metalloids into the environment; their influence on the populations residing in the vicinity has been raising public and scientific concern [ 117 , 124 , 125 ]. There are works that assessed the concentrations of heavy metals in blood (Cd, Hg, and Pb in general blood; Pb in maternal, children, and umbilical cord blood) in populations living near incinerators situated in Lisbon and on Madeira island (Portugal) [ 115 , 116 , 117 ]. Overall, no significant differences were observed between Cd, Hg, and Pb in the general blood of exposed and control groups.…”

Section: Selected Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human Biomonitoring of Selected Hazardous Compounds in Portugal: Part I—Lessons Learned on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Metals, Metalloids, and Pesticides

et al. 2021

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Human biomonitoring (HBM) data provide information on total exposure regardless of the route and sources of exposure. HBM studies have been applied to quantify human exposure to contaminants and environmental/occupational pollutants by determining the parent compounds, their metabolites or even their reaction products in biological matrices. HBM studies performed among the Portuguese population are disperse and limited. To overcome this knowledge gap, this review gathers, for the first time, the published Portuguese HBM information concerning polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, metalloids, and pesticides concentrations detected in the urine, serum, milk, hair, and nails of different groups of the Portuguese population. This integrative insight of available HBM data allows the analysis of the main determinants and patterns of exposure of the Portuguese population to these selected hazardous compounds, as well as assessment of the potential health risks. Identification of the main difficulties and challenges of HBM through analysis of the enrolled studies was also an aim. Ultimately, this study aimed to support national and European policies promoting human health and summarizes the most important outcomes and lessons learned through the HBM studies carried out in Portugal.

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“…This concentration corresponds to the HBM-I level, which indicates the Hg body burden that does not present any risk to health established by the German Human Biomonitoring (HBM) commission (Apel et al, 2017;World Health Organization & UNEP, 2008). The studies reporting low THg levels in blood belong to different European countries (Berglund et al, 2005;Björnberg et al, 2005;Gibb et al, 2011;Gundacker et al, 2010;Lindberg et al, 2004;Puklová et al, 2010;Reis et al, 2007;Rignell-Hydbom et al, 2007;Vahter et al, 2000) and large population studies of Canada and U.S. (CDC-US, 2017; Lye et al, 2013;Mortensen et al, 2014). These studies report that the higher values of THg or MeHg in blood correspond to fish or seafood consumers such as the French coastal population, fishermen and relatives in Finland (Airaksinen et al, 2010;Sirot et al, 2008) or Faroese children in which the diet is highly influenced by pilot whale meat (Budtz-Jørgensen et al, 2004).…”

Section: Comparison With Other Studies On Hg In Different Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentration of mercury species in hair, blood and urine of individuals occupationally exposed to gaseous elemental mercury in Asturias (Spain) and its comparison with individuals from a control group formed by close relatives

Queipo-Abad

González

Martínez‐Morillo

et al. 2019

Science of The Total Environment

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Between November 19 th , and December 3 rd , 2012, 50 workers were intoxicated with gaseous Hg in San Juan de Nieva (Asturias, Spain) during the maintenance of a heat exchanger of a zinc manufacturer. We have quantified the concentration of methylmercury (MeHg), ethylmercury (EtHg) and Hg(II) in blood, hair and urine samples of those individuals taken three years after the accident. Blood, hair and urine of their closest relatives were also analyzed to assess whether the mercury burden present in the intoxicated individuals was due to the occupational exposure or to environmental or lifestyle-related factors. The determination of the mercury species in the samples was carried out applying multiple spiking Isotope Dilution GC-ICP-MS. This procedure corrects for possible interconversion reactions between the Hg species during the sample preparation procedure. Linear correlations were observed for both groups when plotting MeHg in blood vs MeHg in hair, and MeHg in hair vs Hg (II) in urine. The concentrations of Hg species in the intoxicated individuals were not significantly different from those obtained in the control group except for MeHg in blood. Significantly higher levels of MeHg in blood were obtained in some of the intoxicated individuals who had not consumed fish or seafood since the accident. A different correlation between MeHg in hair and MeHg in blood was obtained for these individuals compared to the control group who showed a hair-to-blood ratio consistent with the reported value for people exposed to Hg via fish consumption. Our results suggest that ingested MeHg followed the same pathway of deposition in hair in exposed and non-exposed individuals. However, the exposed individuals with high MeHg levels in blood showed a significantly different extent of MeHg deposition in hair compared to the control group.

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Human exposure to heavy metals in the vicinity of Portuguese solid waste incinerators – Part 3: Biomonitoring of Pb in blood of children under the age of 6 years

Cited by 20 publications

References 5 publications

Biomonitoring of Metals in Children Living in an Urban Area and Close to Waste Incinerators

Biomonitoring of Metals in Children Living in an Urban Area and Close to Waste Incinerators

Human Biomonitoring of Selected Hazardous Compounds in Portugal: Part I—Lessons Learned on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Metals, Metalloids, and Pesticides

Concentration of mercury species in hair, blood and urine of individuals occupationally exposed to gaseous elemental mercury in Asturias (Spain) and its comparison with individuals from a control group formed by close relatives

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