Burdens of mercury in residents of Temirtau, KazakhstanII: Verification of methodologies for estimating human exposure to high levels of Hg pollution in the environment

Hsiao, Hui-Wen; Ullrich, Susanne M.; Tanton, T.W.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.03.047

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Our results are consistent with previous studies on people living in industrial or rural areas (Hammer et al 1971;Chai et al 1998;Hasan et al 2004;Özden et al 2007;Li et al 2008;Zhao et al 2008;Wang et al 2009;Hsiao et al 2010;Wang et al 2013;De Sousa Viana et al 2014;Varrica et al 2014a, b). Exposure to lead was found in the hair of subjects who had consumed cheese, fish, lettuce, and living in areas with environmental exposure (cigarette smoking, distance to road traffic, painting the walls, amalgam filling) (Michalak et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

“…Scalp hair analysis is an alternative to blood and urine testing because not only is it less invasive, but its samples are less hazardous to handle and more convenient to store and transport (Harkins and Susten 2003). HSHA is accurate and repeatable (Harrison et al 1969;Hammer et al 1971;Altshul et al 2004); moreover, scalp hair heavy metal residue concentrations are generally high, and hair length can show the length of exposure (Chai et al 1998;Hsiao et al 2010). Therefore, if the metals are absorbed exogenously by the hair, long-term exposure can lead to the incorporation of high levels of exogenous lead (Pb) along the hair structure (Rodushkin and Alexsson 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals in Taranto and other provinces of Southern Italy by means of scalp hair analysis

Buononato

Luca

Galeandro

et al. 2016

Environ Monit Assess

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The monitoring of heavy metals in industrialized areas to study their association with different occupational and environmental factors is carried out in different ways. In this study, scalp hair analysis was used for the assessment of exposure to these metals in the industrial city of Taranto, characterized by a severe environmental pollution. The highest median values were observed for aluminum, barium, cadmium, lead, mercury, and uranium. Moreover, in the industrial area of Taranto, high levels of barium, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel, and silver were observed in comparison with other Apulia areas. The risk odds ratios (ORs) for observing values above the 50th percentile were elevated for mercury and fish consumption, uranium and milk consumption, lead and female sex, and aluminum and mineral water consumption. No significant increased risk was observed for occupational activities. In a dendrogram of a cluster analysis, three clusters were observed for the different areas of Taranto (Borgo, San Vito, and Statte). A scree plot and score variables plot underline the presence of two principal components: the first regarding antimony, lead, tin, aluminum and silver; the second regarding mercury and uranium. The observed clusters (Borgo, San Vito, and Statte) showed that lead, antimony, tin, aluminum, and silver were the main component. The highest values above the 50th percentile of these minerals, especially lead, were observed in the Borgo area. The observed metal concentration in the Borgo area is compatible with the presence in Taranto of a military dockyard and a reported increase of lung cancer risk among residents of that area.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals in Taranto and other provinces of Southern Italy by means of scalp hair analysis

Buononato

Luca

Galeandro

et al. 2016

Environ Monit Assess

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“…Although from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, the wastewater discharged from JSC Carbide has been treated, the discharges to the Nura River and Samarkand reservoir still had high Hg content. The sediments and river water in the vicinity of the main discharge drain still contain high Hg concentrations [21]. Discharges and losses from both of these facilities contained over 2000 t of Hg combined and created the major Hg contamination cases in Kazakhstan's history, which are still not thoroughly assessed to this date.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury (Hg) Contaminated Sites in Kazakhstan: Review of Current Cases and Site Remediation Responses

Güney

Akimzhanova

Kumisbek

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Mercury (Hg) emissions from anthropogenic sources pose a global problem. In Central Asia, Kazakhstan’s central and northern regions are among the most severely Hg-contaminated territories. This is due to two former acetaldehyde (in Temirtau) and chlor-alkali (in Pavlodar) plants, discharges from which during the second half of the 20th century were estimated over 2000 tons of elemental Hg. However, the exact quantities of Hg released through atmospheric emissions to the environment, controlled discharges to the nearby aquatic systems, leakages in the cell plant, and contaminated sludge are still unknown. The present review is the initiation of a comprehensive field investigation study on the current state of these contaminated sites. It aims to provide a critical review of published literature on Hg in soils, sediments, water, and biota of the impacted ecosystems (Nura and Irtysh rivers, and Lake Balkyldak and their surrounding areas). It furthermore compares these contamination episodes with selected similar international cases as well as reviews and recommends demercuration efforts. The findings indicate that the contamination around the acetaldehyde plant site was significant and mainly localized with the majority of Hg deposited in topsoils and riverbanks within 25 km from the discharge point. In the chlor-alkali plant site, Lake Balkyldak in North Kazakhstan is the most seriously contaminated receptor. The local population of both regions might still be exposed to Hg due to fish consumption illegally caught from local rivers and reservoirs. Since the present field data is limited mainly to investigations conducted before 2010 and given the persisting contamination and nature of Hg, a recent up-to-date environmental assessment for both sites is highly needed, particularly around formerly detected hotspots. Due to incomplete site remediation efforts, recommendations given by several researchers for the territories of the former chlor-alkali and acetaldehyde plant site include ex-situ soil washing, soil pulping with gravitational separation, ultrasound and transgenic algae for sediments, and electrokinetic recovery for the former and removal and/or confinement of contaminated silt deposits and soils for the latter. However, their efficiency first needs to be validated. Findings and lessons from these sites will be useful not only on the local scale but also are valuable resources for the assessment and management of similar contaminated sites around the globe.

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“…To be meaningful any models of the fate of mercury and MeHg in the population require some level of verification, i.e. content in blood or hair, 14 information missing in the author's study. In our previous studies on TTM no evidence of toxicity or adverse effects were found in over 100 Tibetan patients regularly consuming Hg in the same Precious Pills described by the authors, but produced by Men-Tsee-Khang (MTKI) Pharmacy Department in Dharamsala, India.…”

Section: Lack Of Verification Via Biomonitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comment on “Traditional Tibetan Medicine Induced High Methylmercury Exposure Level and Environmental Mercury Burden in Tibet, China”

Sallon

Roberts

Tamdin

et al. 2019

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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M ercury (Hg) is ubiquitous in the environment with global emissions estimated at nearly 7527 Mg annually, some 70% from primary natural reservoirs and reemission processes. The remainder, anthropogenic sources, are principally fossil-fuel fired power plants, gold mining, nonferrous metals manufacturing, cement production, waste disposal and caustic soda production. 1 Despite its toxicity, Hg has a long history of use in Asian medicines including Ayurveda, 2,3 Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), 4,5 and Traditional Tibetan Medicine (TTM). 6 Last year Liu et al (the authors) published a research article in Environmental Science & Technology entitled "Traditional Tibetan Medicine Induced High Methylmercury Exposure Level and Environmental Mercury Burden in Tibet", that theoretically models the fate of Hg consumed as TTM, to high levels of Hg in Tibet's municipal sewage measured previously. 7 In our view, the paper has a number of short comings limiting the significance of the work and making it unlikely that the findings are directly informative for assessment of individual or population risks associated with TTM and the wider burden of mercury in the environment.

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Burdens of mercury in residents of Temirtau, KazakhstanII: Verification of methodologies for estimating human exposure to high levels of Hg pollution in the environment

Cited by 6 publications

References 59 publications

Assessment of environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals in Taranto and other provinces of Southern Italy by means of scalp hair analysis

Assessment of environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals in Taranto and other provinces of Southern Italy by means of scalp hair analysis

Mercury (Hg) Contaminated Sites in Kazakhstan: Review of Current Cases and Site Remediation Responses

Comment on “Traditional Tibetan Medicine Induced High Methylmercury Exposure Level and Environmental Mercury Burden in Tibet, China”

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