Environmental monitoring of the area surrounding oil wells in Val d’Agri (Italy): element accumulation in bovine and ovine organs

Abstract

In this work, environmental heavy metal contamination in the Val d'Agri area of Southern Italy was monitored, measuring the accumulation of 18 heavy metals (U, Hg, Pb, Cd, As, Sr, Sn, V, Ni, Cr, Mo, Co, Cu, Zn, Ca, Mn, Fe, and Al) in the organs of animals raised in the surrounding area (kidney, lung, and liver of bovine and ovine species). Val d'Agri features various oil processing centers which are potentially a significant source of environmental pollution, making it essential to perform studies that will outline the state of the art on which any recovery plans and interventions may be developed. The analysis was carried out using official and accredited analytical methods based on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and the measurements were statistically processed in order to give a contribution to risk assessment. Even though five samples showed Pb and Cd concentrations above the limits defined in the European Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, the mean concentrations of most elements suggest that contamination in this area is low. Consequently, these results also suggest that there is no particular risk for human exposure to toxic trace elements. Nevertheless, the findings of this work confirm that element accumulation in ovine species is correlated with geographical livestock area. Therefore, ovine-specific organs might be used as bioindicators for monitoring contamination by specific toxic elements in exposed areas.

Environmental Impacts of Shewashok Oil Field on Sheep and Cow Meat Using Vital Trace Elements as Contamination Bioindicators

“…Table 2 shows that the value of aluminum in cow sample of both control group and study area is 186.2 and 278.7 ppb, respectively, again the value of study area is higher than the control group by 1.4 times. Both locations have a similar value for aluminum, but in comparison with the WHO 2017 guidelines which are 200 ppb, both locations are higher than allowed limit that is due to the type of animal diet in both the groups [17].…”

“…Both Al and Fe are effective exceeding the WHO guideline, as discussed in the first section high value of Al is due to the type of both animals' diet in the study area [17]. Fe is higher than the WHO standards in both animal meat samples, but it is very high in cows' meat samples as showed above.…”

Assessing of Heavy Metals in Serum of Barki Sheep in Rainfed Area at Matrouh Governorate

“…Environmental pollution is a topic of great interest because it directly affects the quality of ecosystems and of all living organisms at different trophic and systematic levels (Ferrante et al, 2017). In recent years, water pollution by heavy metals such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) has accelerated dramatically due to natural and anthropogenic source (Masindi and Muedi, 2018) and subsequently, these metals are taken by plants and animals and take their way into food chain (Miedico et al, 2016). In Matrouh governorate, the native rangelands are deteriorating due to environmental and human reasons (Halmy, 2019).…”

Impact of upstream oil extraction and environmental public health: A review of the evidence

“…Two studies assessed heavy metals in organs of animals raised in oil producing regions and slaughtered for meat consumption. Researchers found that among sheep (but not cattle), proximity to oil wells was related to higher concentrations of Pb (liver) and Cd (kidney) and that levels of metals varied by geographic location of the livestock in southern Italy (Miedico et al 2016). Among cattle in oil-producing regions in Colombia, Pb, Cd, and molybdenum were measured in the organs of slaughtered animals (Brown 2003).…”