Soil, grain and water chemistry in relation to human selenium-responsive diseases in Enshi District, China

Abstract

-Selenium deficiency (Keshan Disease) and toxicity diseases in humans occur within 20 km of each other in Enshi District in China and have been linked to environmental levels of Se. Low concentrations of Se are associated with Jurassic siltstones and sandstones, whereas high concentrations occur in areas underlain by Permian carbonaceous strata. Although these broad relationships between Se in the environment and the human population have been established previously, not all villages underlain by the carbonaceous strata suffer Se toxicity problems and the precise controls on Se distribution and availability have not been quantified. In the present study soil, grain, drinking water and human hair samples are examined to determine the controls on Se availability in three Se environments in Enshi District. Five low-Se and Keshan Disease villages, five high-Se and no toxicity villages and five high-Se and toxicity villages were selected for the study. Results show that the majority of samples in the low-Se villages are deficient or marginal in Se and that Se availability to plants is inhibited by adsorption onto organic matter and Fe oxyhydroxides in soil. Therefore, remediation strategies involving the application of Se fertiliser direct to the soil may not increase plant Se levels as expected. In the highSe villages, localised lithological variations result in considerable ranges in Se concentrations in all sample types. Deficient and excessive levels of Se are recorded samples from the same village. Selenium bioavailability in the high-Se toxicity villages is controlled by the total soil Se concentration and pH. A greater proportion of the Se is plant available in villages where the carbonaceous strata are interbedded with limestone. Villagers should be advised to avoid planting crops in these areas if possible.

Effect of selenium fertilization on the accumulation of cadmium and lead in rice plants

“…Selenium is an essential trace element for humans and animals (Allan et al, 1999); selenium deficiency can lead or contribute to Keshan disease and Kashin-Beck disease, which have been reported in areas characterized by extremely low selenium content in the soil and food (Fordyce et al, 2000;Williams et al, 2009). Cereals and cereal products are the main source of dietary intake of selenium for populations living in the low selenium areas (Rayman, 2008).…”

Selenium Deficiency and Toxicity in the Environment

“…Assuming a cigarette contains 1 g tobacco and that all the selenium is inhaled, a person smoking 20 cigarettes could intake 1.6 µg Se day -1 . The inhalation of locally grown selenium-rich tobacco in seleniferous regions of China may contribute to the loading of the local population (selenium concentration 9.05 mg kg -1 , Fordyce et al, 1998). In general, however, inhalation is a less important exposure route than ingestion.…”

“…Several different chemical techniques are available to assess bioavailability but one of the most widely accepted indicators is the watersoluble selenium content (Jacobs, 1989;Tan, 1989;Fordyce et al, 2000b). In most soils, only a small proportion of the total selenium is dissolved in solution (0.3 -7%) and water soluble selenium contents are generally < 0.1 mg kg -1 (Table 3) (Jacobs, 1989).…”

Selenium status in Southern Tasmania

“…Low soil selenium is associated with sand, sandstone and siltstone as opposed to clay (Hou et al, 1992). Availability is inhibited by adsorption onto organic matter as well as leaching, with low levels typically found on hill slopes (Hou et al, 1992;Fordyce et al, 2000;Wang and Gao, 2001). Sulfur fertilization is also thought to interfere with selenium uptake by plants (Gupta & Gupta, 2002).…”