Pathways of human exposure to arsenic in a community surrounding a copper smelter

Polissar, Lincoln; Lowry-Coble, Kim; Kalman, David A.; Belle, Gerald van; Covert, David S.; Burbacher, Thomas M.; Bolgiano, Doug; Mottet, N. Karle

doi:10.1016/s0013-9351(05)80128-8

Cited by 82 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Manton et al (2000) showed that blood lead is dominated by lead derived from the hands, which in turn appears to derive from floors. Polissar et al (1990) found that hand-to-mouth activity was the primary source of arsenic exposure. The likelihood that children will have elevated blood lead levels can be estimated from Lanphear et al's (1998) pooled analysis of epidemiologic studies.…”

Section: Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and house dust in the communities surrounding the Sydney, Nova Scotia, tar ponds.

Lambert

Lane

2004

Environ Health Perspect

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This study evaluated lead, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in the residential communities adjacent to the Sydney, Nova Scotia, tar ponds, the area considered Canada's worst contaminated site. The tar pond remediation policy has been limited to the site and some residential properties. We compared background concentrations in 91 soil samples taken 5-20 km from the coke oven site with those in soil samples from the three communities surrounding the tar ponds: Whitney Pier, Ashby, and North End. These surrounding communities were statistically different from background regarding arsenic, lead, and PAHs. Twenty percent of the background soil samples and 95% of the tar pond soil samples were above the Canadian health-risk-based soil guidelines for arsenic (12 ppm), and 5% of the background samples and 80% of the tar pond soil samples were above the Canadian guidelines for lead (140 ppm). Regarding dust lead and arsenic loading, the results provide no evidence that Whitney Pier is significantly different than Ashby and North End. Children in these communities are predicted to have a 1-15% chance of blood lead > 10 µg/dL. The results suggest that lead and arsenic found in the homes originate outside. The lead content of paint in the homes was not evaluated, but consideration of painted wood at the doorway did not confound the results of the study. The results indicate that the residential environment has been adversely affected by PAHs, lead, and arsenic and should be considered for remediation.

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Section: Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lead, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and house dust in the communities surrounding the Sydney, Nova Scotia, tar ponds.

Lambert

Lane

2004

Environ Health Perspect

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“…While a direct examination of validity is not practical, it is possible to determine whether the exposure indicators reflect current knowledge of pollutant distributions and Residence location as a measure of environmental exposure: a review of air pollution epidemiology studies , 1988;Polissar et al, 1990;Kimborough et al, 1995;Hwang et al, 1997 ) . Thus, if a cumulative exposure assessment is not performed, contributions from potentially important sources may be omitted.…”

Section: Validity Of Residence Location As An Exposure Indicatormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exposure to a pollutant may result from several exposure pathways. Especially for persistent and bioaccumulative pollutants, indirect exposure pathways (ingestion, dermal permeation ) can account for a significant fraction of total uptake (e.g., Polissar et al, 1990;Sedman et al, 1994;Kimborough et al, 1995;Wohl et al, 1996 ) . If the primary exposure pathway is not inhalation, then indicators designed to represent air pollution levels are unlikely to adequately represent total exposures.…”

Section: Validity Of Residence Location As An Exposure Indicatormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of the 21 studies using air quality monitoring, 13 used a single site to estimate exposures within an area, and only two examined the variability of air pollutant level within an area ( Ware et al, 1986;Horstman et al, 1997 ). The importance of spatial variability was recognized in some of the metal studies where many soil and dust samples, mostly taken in or near studied residences, were used to derive long -term exposure estimates ( Matanoski et al, 1981;Polissar et al, 1990;Baghurst et al, 1992;Wang et al, 1992;Kimborough et al, 1995;Wohl et al, 1996;Hwang et al, 1997 ). Such measurements increase the accuracy and confidence of the exposure estimates.…”

Section: Huang and Battermanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, recent studies show the influence of inhalation, ingestion and dermal exposure pathways, and significant variations between outdoor, indoor and microenvironmental conditions ( Lippmann and Lioy, 1985;Michael et al, 1990;Polissar et al, 1990;McKone, 1991;Wartenberg, 1992;Guthe et al, 1992;Stallones et al, 1992;Covello and Merkhofer, 1993;Briggs and Elliot, 1995;Kimborough et al, 1995 ). Exposures from an``indirect'' pathway (e.g., air to soil to food ) can greatly exceed contributions from thè`d irect'' inhalation pathway (Sedman et al, 1994 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Residence location as a measure of environmental exposure: a review of air pollution epidemiology studies

Huang

Batterman

2000

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

160

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Residence location has long been used to indicate environmental exposure in many epidemiological studies. This indicator is easy to establish, requires little exposure or monitoring data, and is potentially applicable to many types of investigations. The validity, accuracy and utility of residence location as an exposure indicator, however, is challenged by current concerns regarding multiple exposure pathways, persistent and toxic contaminants, and cumulative exposures from non -point, mobile and point sources. This paper reviews 45 epidemiological studies that use residence location to identify study populations and estimate air pollution exposures. Thirteen ( 29% ) of the studies determined environmental exposures based on``proximity'' measures, usually the distance from a subject's residence to a pollutant source. Other studies used``zones'' presumed to have equal pollutant levels. Several studies combined zone and proximity approaches. Exposures were quantified using monitoring data in 27 ( 60% ) studies and dispersion modeling in two ( 4% ) studies. Sixteen ( 36% ) studies did not use any environmental data to quantify exposure. A total of 31 ( 69% ) of the studies reported significant associations between health endpoints and the pollutant exposures represented by residence location. In general, comprehensive and systematic approaches to identify and estimate population exposures were not used, and the exposure estimates were therefore deemed likely to have great uncertainty. Unless exposure levels among groups are verified, it cannot be determined whether nonsignificant associations between exposures and health endpoints indicate a lack of measurable health effects, or are merely a result of exposure misclassification. Site -specific and quantitative exposure assessments are needed to better quantify and confirm exposures within such studies, as well as to permit interpretations and comparisons across studies. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (2000) 10, 66 ± 85.

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Toxicology and Epidemiology of Arsenic and its Compounds

Hughes

Thomas

Kenyon

2009

Arsenic

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Pathways of human exposure to arsenic in a community surrounding a copper smelter

Cited by 82 publications

References 9 publications

Lead, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and house dust in the communities surrounding the Sydney, Nova Scotia, tar ponds.

Lead, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and house dust in the communities surrounding the Sydney, Nova Scotia, tar ponds.

Residence location as a measure of environmental exposure: a review of air pollution epidemiology studies

Toxicology and Epidemiology of Arsenic and its Compounds

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