Human Exposure to Metals: Levels in Autopsy Tissues of Individuals Living Near a Hazardous Waste Incinerator

Abstract

The concentrations of a number of metals were determined in the brain, bone, kidney, liver, and lung of 20 autopsied subjects who had lived, at least 10 years, in the neighborhood of a hazardous waste incinerator (HWI) in Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). Results were compared with those obtained in 1998 (baseline survey) and previous surveys (2003 and 2007). Arsenic, Be, Ni, Tl, and V showed concentrations below the corresponding detection limits in all tissues. Cadmium showed the highest levels in the kidney, with a mean value of 21.15 μg/g. However, Cd was found below the detection limit in the brain and bone. Chromium showed similar concentrations in the kidney, brain, and lung (range of mean values, 0.57-0.66 μg/g) and higher in the bone (1.38 μg/g). In turn, Hg was below the detection limit in all tissues with the exception of the kidney, where the mean concentration was 0.15 μg/g (range, <0.05-0.58 μg/g). On the other hand, Mn could be detected in all tissues showing the highest levels in the liver and kidney (1.45 and 1.09 μg/g, respectively). Moreover, Pb showed the highest concentrations in bone (mean, 1.39 μg/g; range, <0.025-4.88 μg/g). Finally, Sn could be detected only in some tissue samples, reaching the highest values in the bone (0.17 μg/g). The current metal levels in human tissues from individuals living near the HWI of Tarragona are comparable and of a similar magnitude to previously reported results corresponding to general populations, as well as those of our previous surveys.

Carcinogenic risk of chromium, copper and arsenic in CCA-treated wood

“…These results suggest that 0.10 mM of Cr and 0.06 mM of As are concentrations to which human lung cells might be exposed, while we understand the difficulty in comparing the results for concentrations of Cr and As in human lung tissue in vivo and the results for promoted transforming activity by co-exposure to Cr and As in our experimental research in vitro. A previous study also showed that Cr level in wet lung tissue from subjects living near a hazardous waste incinerator in 2013 (12.3 mM) was about 2-fold higher (p < 0.001) than that in 1998 (6.6 mM) (Mari et al, 2014), suggesting the concentrations of heavy metals diffused from the incinerator increase in human lungs. Taken together, our results suggest that measures should be taken to prevent diffusion, especially of Cr and As, in the air through incineration of lumber debris including CCAtreated wood after the disaster.…”

“…Previous studies showed mean concentrations of 46.5 mM of Cr and 7.5 mM of As in dried lung tissues and mean concentrations of 4.8 mM of Cr and 1.9 mM of As in wet lung tissues (Mari et al, 2014). These results suggest that 0.10 mM of Cr and 0.06 mM of As are concentrations to which human lung cells might be exposed, while we understand the difficulty in comparing the results for concentrations of Cr and As in human lung tissue in vivo and the results for promoted transforming activity by co-exposure to Cr and As in our experimental research in vitro.…”

Correlations between iron content in knee joint tissues and chosen indices of peripheral blood morphology

“…The content of elements in bone tissue and of some trace elements have been frequently assessed in numerous studies. [18][19][20][21][22][23] The comparison of gender-related iron concentrations showed that the lower level of the element in the knee joint of women as compared to men was in the meniscus. The iron content in the femur and tibia was found to be higher than in men.…”

Chronic arsenic intoxication diagnostic score (CAsIDS)

“…To grade the individual CAsE, we establish BAsL intervals based on the median bone arsenic concentration reported for 160 autopsy and 92 surgical specimens (Brodziak‐Dopierała, Kwapulinski, & Kowol, ; Mari et al, ; Yoo et al, ) as well as the estimated BAsL in a number of our own patients presenting with arsenic neuropathy. BAsL can be estimated non‐invasively as osteoresorptive arsenic in two consecutive urine samples as described elsewhere (Dani, ).…”