Sources, behaviour, and environmental and human health risks of high-technology rare earth elements as emerging contaminants

Gwenzi, Willis; Mangori, Lynda; Danha, Concilia; Chaukura, Nhamo; Dunjana, Nothando; Sanganyado, Edmond

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.235

Cited by 542 publications

(238 citation statements)

References 213 publications

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“…Hence, we cannot assert that the Gd signal originates from retention from this single exposure event. It is fair to note, that other than CE-MRI sources of exposure to Gd are possible 29,30 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection and imaging of gadolinium accumulation in human bone tissue by micro- and submicro-XRF

Turyanskaya

Rauwolf

Pichler

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBcAs) are frequently used in patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging. in GBcAs gadolinium (Gd) is present in a bound chelated form. Gadolinium is a rareearth element, which is normally not present in human body. though the blood elimination half-life of contrast agents is about 90 minutes, recent studies demonstrated that some tissues retain gadolinium, which might further pose a health threat due to toxic effects of free gadolinium. It is known that the bone tissue can serve as a gadolinium depot, but so far only bulk measurements were performed. Here we present a summary of experiments in which for the first time we mapped gadolinium in bone biopsy from a male patient with idiopathic osteoporosis (without indication of renal impairment), who received MRI 8 months prior to biopsy. In our studies performed by means of synchrotron radiation induced micro-and submicro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (SR-XRF), gadolinium was detected in human cortical bone tissue. The distribution of gadolinium displays a specific accumulation pattern. Correlation of elemental maps obtained at AnKA synchrotron with qBei images (quantitative backscattered electron imaging) allowed assignment of Gd structures to the histological bone structures. follow-up beamtimes at eSRf and Diamond Light Source using submicro-SR-XRf allowed resolving thin Gd structures in cortical bone, as well as correlating them with calcium and zinc. The method of contrast-enhanced MRI (CE-MRI) dates to 1988, when the first gadolinium (Gd)-based contrast agent (GBCA), gadopentetate dimeglumine (Magnevist, Bayer), was approved for clinical use. CE-MRI is a useful imaging tool nowadays, with approximately 30 million procedures done each year worldwide, and more than 300 million procedures already performed to date 1. Estimates show that the GBCAs are administered in 25-35% of all MRI examinations 1,2. According to the data available, most of the administered dose of GBCAs (regardless of an agent used), should be cleared in less than 2 and >95% by 24 hours 3. Recent findings, however, demonstrate that the GBCAs are not fully excreted and the accumulation of Gd in, e.g. neuronal tissues and organs such as brain takes place 4. The GBCAs are considered to be rather safe, yet there is a number of papers reporting nephrotoxic, hematotoxic, hepatotoxic and neurotoxic effects observed in animals and humans 5. One of the most serious adverse reactions associated with the use of GBCAs is nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), which had been observed in patients with renal insufficiency 6. NSF is a rare, but serious disease characterized by widespread tissue hardening (primarily skin is affected) with fibrotic nodules and plaques. First described in 1997, it was finally linked to the use of GBCAs in patients with kidney dysfunction in 2006 6,7. The pathophysiological mechanism involved

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection and imaging of gadolinium accumulation in human bone tissue by micro- and submicro-XRF

Turyanskaya

Rauwolf

Pichler

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…Research into the economics associated with rare earth sustainability has generally been focused on three key elements; the price on the market, supply restrictions by China, and the availability of non-Chinese deposits [21]. Ecological sustainability has also received some focused attention in recent years as environmental governance and environmental protection investment has tended to affect rare earth sustainable supply chain development [26].As a stable social system is the basis for the smooth operation of a circular economy, social indicators need to be included in any evaluation index system for rare earth resources sustainable development [27,28].While much previous research has only considered basic sustainable development objectives, as rare earth is a high-tech raw material, technological development and national policy guidance also affects rare earth industry development [29,30]. Further, rare earth sustainable evaluation systems have been proposed based on economic, social, environmental, technological, and policy issues [23]; however, these have not considered the most basic rare earth resources.…”

Section: Construction Of a Rare Earth Resource Sustainable Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation and Policy Research on the Sustainable Development of China’s Rare Earth Resources

Liang

Yang

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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As rare earth resources are indispensable raw materials for modern society, they have become strategic global reserve resources. Even though China is the world’s largest producer and exporter of rare earth, the industry has low efficiency and severe problems with over-exploitation and environmental pollution; therefore, there needs to be a greater focus on the sustainable exploitation of rare earth resources. This paper establishes an innovative evaluation index system for the sustainable development of China’s rare earth resources from six main aspects; economic development, social progress, environmental protection, technological innovation, rare earth development and utilization, and rare earth protection in which the indicators are assessed using an entropy method. Grey correlation analysis was used to evaluate China’s rare earth sustainable development level from 2006–2016, from which it was found that sustainable development was poor from 2006–2010 and marginally better from 2011–2016. The main factor affecting rare earth sustainable development in China was found to be the lag in the development of environment protection system and rare earth protection system. Policy recommendations for improving China’s rare earth protection, environmental protection, and technological innovation are proposed to guide government regulations and assist rare earth industry personnel.

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“…Gd and some other REE are heavily used. The growing medical use of REE over the last decades (Lerat-Hardy et al, 2019) together with their high-tech applications, should demonstrate the urgent need for investigations into these elements (Gwenzi et al, 2018). Even if Gd is mainly transported as a dissolved fraction (Kulaksiz and Bau, 2013), according to Migaszewski and Gałuszka (2015) the origin and mechanisms of controlling the LREE, MREE, or HREE enrichment in soluble and solid fractions are still unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, as a first step in adding to the total concentration data, it is necessary to investigate the distribution of REE in non-residual fractions of sediments from rivers receiving anthropogenic inputs. This step is of importance since it enables us to appreciate the potential of REE that could end up in river water if physico-chemical conditions change, and therefore could become potentially available and a risk to living organisms (Gwenzi et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin, distribution, and behaviour of rare earth elements in river bed sediments from a carbonate semi-arid basin (Tafna River, Algeria)

Benabdelkader

Taleb

Probst

et al. 2019

Applied Geochemistry

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A B S T R A C TThe behaviour and sources of rare earth elements (REE) in river sediments were investigated at ten stations and two dams of the Tafna basin (Northern Algeria) during contrasting hydrological conditions and using a combination of normalisation procedures, REE anomalies, various REE ratios, and multivariate statistical analysis. The ranking and REE concentrations were in the range of other carbonated areas. The classical fractionation of the heavy REE(HREE) erosion pattern, evidenced from upstream to downstream by the La/Yb or Sm/Yb ratios, was disturbed by the presence of dams, which retained the light REE (LREE) in particular. The hydrological conditions, particle size, and geochemical characteristics controlled the REE patterns. The LREE were associated with clay minerals and HREE with coarse silts, whereas carbonate and particulate organic carbon (POC) did not influence the transport downstream. The total concentration of REE in sediments was not strongly affected by anthropogenic inputs from various sources (industrial activities, and domestic or medical wastes). Indeed, some LREE enrichment and anomalies were detected at a few stations and locally for Gd, Tb, and Yb. However, the anthropogenic contribution can partially be hidden by dilution due to particle erosion. High flow increased the LREE and MREE enrichment and LREE/HREE fractionation in some places due to erosion processes and anthropic influences (dam releases and local wastes inputs). Middle REE (MREE) and HREE were the most extractable elements unlike LREE (which are the most concentrated), particularly during high water conditions. Finally, the REE demonstrated the impact of natural processes (hydrological, geochemical, and physical) and some anthropogenic disturbances (waste inputs, fertilisers, and dams). This might inspire to develop such investigations in other similar semi-arid basins undergoing various pressures. The use of local bedrock as a reference and a set of geochemical and statistical tools, is recommended.

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Sources, behaviour, and environmental and human health risks of high-technology rare earth elements as emerging contaminants

Cited by 542 publications

References 213 publications

Detection and imaging of gadolinium accumulation in human bone tissue by micro- and submicro-XRF

Detection and imaging of gadolinium accumulation in human bone tissue by micro- and submicro-XRF

Evaluation and Policy Research on the Sustainable Development of China’s Rare Earth Resources

Origin, distribution, and behaviour of rare earth elements in river bed sediments from a carbonate semi-arid basin (Tafna River, Algeria)

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